And Then Came the Rain
by Riiko Shea
Summary: Lily and the Marauders enter 7th year. But the Dark Lord is gaining power. Will Hogwarts still be safe? And will James finally convince Lily to go out with him?
1. Summer Surprise

A/N: Okay so this is my first fan fiction! Reviews are appreciated, because only then will I know if I'm any good. So please read, review, and enjoy.

**My Thunder **

**A Harry Potter Fan fiction**

**James and Lily**

**Disclaimer**: It's not mine. It's J.K.'s. And the song that I took the title from and might be including later on (if there is a later on) isn't mine either. It's "Thunder" and it's Boys like Girls' song.

**James**

"You will die..." the voice hisses in my ear. I watch, horrified, as in front of my appear my best friends, tied up and suspended in midair: Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black. Next to them floats the love of my life and arch- nemesis, Lily Evans. All four are staring at me with pleading eyes, mouths open but not making a sound. They have Silencing charms placed on them.

I try to run to them, but I find I'm tied up too. Someone approaches me. I turn and gasp.

There is a snakelike face, red eyes, white skin, slits for nostrils. It's Voldemort. I don't know how I know, but I do. He laughs as I struggle against the ropes that bind me, and strolls over to where pudgy Peter hangs.

Voldemort toys with his wand, and then suddenly points it at Peter's head, hissing, "Avada kadavra!" Peter's eyes widen for a moment before the Killing Curse hit him. I writhe, screaming soundlessly as one after another, Remus, Sirius, and Lily's eyes close. Finally, the Dark Lord turns to me, and now the wand is pointed at me, and he hisses, "Avada Kad-"

"What the bloody hell is going on in here?"

I sat up so fast I heard my neck crack. Wincing, I glared at Sirius, resplendent in his Puddlemere United boxers. "Knock much?" I snapped.

My best friend grinned cheekily, but his eyes were worried. "I would have, but you were screaming your head off." I winced again. Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Prongs... have you been crying?"

I swore and leapt up out of bed, rushing into the bathroom connected to my bedroom. My eyes were red and swollen. I scrubbed at them, splashing my face with cold water before returning, shaking my head at Sirius. He nodded and didn't press me.

I sighed and sank to the floor, resting my head against the wall as Sirius searched my night table drawers for candy. As he did so, a prim knock sounded. "James? Sirius?"

"I'm decent, Mum!" I called back.

"It's not you I'm worried about. Is Sirius?" she replied, pointedly.

I grinned. This morning call had stemmed from one fateful morning when my mother had walked in on me and the Marauders playing an early came of Truth, Dare, or Totally Strip.

"Decent, Mrs. P.!" Sirius called cheerily, a chocolate frog in one cheek and a licorice wand in the other.

My mother stepped into the room, in a pink dress, and smiled at me. My nightmare, which had still been nagging at me, turned tail and fled to some dark corner of my mind.

Despite the fact that I'm a teenage boy, my mum still had that effect on me. She can make even my worst moods and nightmares go away just by smiling at me.

Mum handed me a letter, and tossed Sirius one as well. He caught it and winked at her, his mouth to full to reply. She smiled and looked at me searchingly.

"James?"

I shook my head and opened the letter from Hogwarts. In it was my train ticket, my list of books, my list of ingredients for potion, and... a badge.

As I stared at the badge, turning it over in my fingers, Sirius sighed as he flipped through his own papers. "Blah, I don't want to go back."

"Yes, you do," I said, still staring at the badge. "You say the same thing every year, and every time we get there you look like it's Christmas."

Sirius chuckled. "Well, I _do_ get to see Minnie McG. again!" he said.

"And Remus and Peter," added my mother.

Sirius nodded and said, musingly, "Speaking of Remus, hopefully his Head Boy duties won't prevent him from... helping... me with my schoolwork."

I looked up and snorted. "Helping? Doing, you mean. Poor guy, falling in with a git like you."

Sirius cackled. "That's what I am, all right!" Suddenly he noticed what was in my hand. "Uh... Prongsy, what's that?"

I smiled and turned it so he could see the H intertwined with scarlet and gold. A Head Boy's badge.

My mother laughed and hugged me, and Sirius gasped and said, "Congratulations, mate!" before dissolving into laughter.

I watched him for a while before snapping, "What's so funny?"

He gasped for breath, looking up at me, his chest heaving. Finally he said, panting, pointing at the badge, "Lily... will be... _furious_."

I slowly smiled, then chuckled, and then began to laugh uproariously with Sirius. _This year, _I thought, _should be a lot of fun._


	2. A Marauderlike Shock

A/N: Hello! This is the second chapter, told from Lily's point of view... It's sort of long, there were a lot of things I wanted to get said in this chapter. So please, read, review, and enjoy! (Oh, and if you like this story or me... here's hoping... I have another oneshot called Reflections on Happy Endings. So check it out.)

**Disclaimer: **I really wish it was mine... but it's not. It's J.K.'s. Sigh.

**My Thunder**

**Chapter Two**

**A Marauder-like Shock**

**Lily**

On September 1st, my parents dropped me off outside Platform 9 ¾. My sister, Petunia, was not there, due to the fact she was on another date with the repulsive Vernon Dursley. I pushed my trolley towards the barrier, struggling to keep my cat Andromeda's cage balanced on top of my trunk.

As soon as I made it through the barrier, I was assaulted by two screaming girls.

"Lily!" shouted Alice. "I've missed you!"

"Yeah!" shrieked Colleen. "I've missed you too!

I laughed and flung and arm around Alice and Colleen. They hugged me back, my two best friends in the whole world. Looking around the platform over their shoulders, I sighed contentedly. "I'm SO glad to be back."

"So are we," Colleen said, helping me push my trolley towards the train. Alice trailed along behind us, craning her neck.

"Looking for someone?" I called back, and was gratified with a blush that spread up to her brown hair.

"Maybe," she muttered.

Colleen laughed. "Yeah, Lils. She's looking for ol' Frank Longbottom."

I halted and turned to face Alice, grinning. "You and Frank?"

Alice blushed harder. "Why? Is there something wrong with him?"

I laughed and released my trolley to hug her. "No!" I exclaimed. "I am thrilled for you two. I hope you have a lot of happiness together."

Alice hugged me back and then I released her, grabbing my trolley and pushing it the last few feet to the baggage car. Seizing the handle of my trunk, I tugged, trying to lift it up the steps, swearing under my breath. "What did I put in here again?" I asked Colleen, since Alice was too busy looking for Frank. She shrugged.

Suddenly, a big pair of hands closed over my own, trapping them on the handle of my trunk and me between a pair of black-robed arms. Looking up, I saw Sirius Black smiling down at me, black hair hanging slightly in his dark eyes, said eyes twinkling. He lifted my trunk and my hands, pushing the trunk into the baggage compartment. Then he released my hands, patting me on the head.

"You're welcome, Lilykins," he said.

I rolled my eyes and tried to look stern, but a smile kept breaking through. Really, the Marauders weren't so bad... well, except for their arrogant, big headed leader, James Potter.

"Hello, Black," I said, giving up on the frown and smiling. "How are you?"

"Good," he answered, leaning against a pillar, showing off his lean muscle. He nodded to Colleen and Alice, who had come back to the group. They smiled back.

"Hello, Lily," came a softer voice. I turned and my smile widened as I recognized Remus Lupin, one of my closest friends despite his Marauder membership. His sandy blond hair was slightly unkempt, and his clothes were rather worn. His blue eyes shined, though, and he was still pretty popular, despite his bookish appearance.

"Hi, Remus," I answered. "How's your furry, little problem?"

"You mean his badly behaved bunny?" snorted Sirius, grinning. I knew, however, he was just joking. The four Marauders and I were the only people besides the teachers and Dumbledore, (and, by an accident some time before I figured it out, Severus Snape) who knew that Remus Lupin was a werewolf. He was bitten as a child, and ever since then had been taken to the Shrieking Shack every full moon, where he was watched by the three friends in illegal animagus forms. 'Furry, little problem' was Potter's name for Remus' condition.

"It's fine, thanks," Remus laughed. "How was your summer?"

I shuddered. "Awful. Petunia's boyfriend was over all the time. He looks like a pig in a wig... so of course, I'll have to gift him with a tail as soon as my birthday comes." I grinned wickedly. Sirius laughed and clapped my shoulder, Remus grinned and shook his head, while Alice and Colleen giggled and rolled their eyes at me.

Just then, the train whistle made its presence known. I jumped a foot, startled, causing my four friends to laugh even louder. "Come on, Lily," Alice said. She tugged me into the train. "Before you embarrass yourself any more." She entered the train and I followed. Colleen brought up the rear, calling to the boys, "We'll see you later!"

We moved through the train, searching for an empty compartment. Alice went to find Frank, promising us she'd find us later. Colleen and I continued on. I squeezed by the lady with the cart, but Colleen squealed and took out a few coins to buy some candy. It was a tradition: Alice and I would pretend like we didn't want anything, Colleen would buy more than even she could eat, and then we'd share with her. My eyes itched and watered when I thought that this would be the last time this would ever happen.

Finally, I sank into an empty seat and a moment later Colleen and her stack of candy sat across from me. I leaned back, savoring the silence. I knew that before long the Marauders would join us, and we'd have a loud, though amusing, trains ride.

Colleen leaned back, tapping her wand against her leg as the train began to move, heading towards Hogwarts. "So, Lily, did you get Head Girl?" she asked, as her wand emitted a shower of blue sparks that matched her eyes.

I nodded. "Yes. Who got Head Boy? Do you know?"

"No," she answered. "Alice and I didn't have time to ask around, because we didn't get here long before you."

Colleen bit into a chocolate frog, peered at the card, and then threw it to me. Godric Gryffindor smiled up at me. I groaned. "Have it already," I proclaimed, tossing it back. Returning to the subject at hand, I asked her, "Who do you think got Head Boy?"

"Hm..." Colleen tapped her nose in thought, one of her habits. "I'd say Remus."

Alice entered the carriage just then with Frank, sitting to my left, with him to her left, by the window. "I agree."

Colleen raised her eyebrows. "Not supporting Frank, then?"

The other girl blushed. "No, because Remus is the most logical choice. He's been a prefect and everything." She mouthed, _Sorry_ to Frank, who smiled and patted her hand.

"Good argument," I said. "I agree. It must be Remus."

"Yeah," granted Frank.

"Speaking of the Marauders, I'm surprised James wasn't there to greet you when you arrived," Colleen interjected.

I rolled my eyes and lightly hit Colleen with a licorice wand. "That stupid git. Who cares? Hopefully he'll stay away from me for the whole year. I'd be better off."

Alice giggled. "And so would he," she said.

I glared. "What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.

"Well for one," she said, "James'd get hexed a lot less."

I laughed and nodded, but then groaned when a familiar voice from outside filtered into the cabin.

"Did someone say my name?" James Potter asked, walking in. Alice grinned and waved, Colleen chuckled, and I groaned again. Behind him were Sirius and Remus, dragging along Peter Pettigrew, the slightly pudgy, mousy looking, watery eyed, least ranking Marauder.

"What do you want, Potter?" I snapped.

He grinned, a roguish grin that would have caused any girl but me and my friends to swoon, one hazel eye winking at me from behind his glasses. "Miss me, Lilykins?" he asked, coming to sit to my right. Peter, Remus and Sirius sat down across from us next to Colleen.

I looked at Peter, trying to avoid looking at or thinking about the boy sitting to my right. "Hello, Peter. How was your summer?"

"Good," he squeaked.

An awkward silence reigned when he fell silent. We looked at each other. _Please, _I thought, _someone say something before Potter asks me out._

Thankfully Remus seemed to hear my plea, because he smiled. He always was my favorite Marauder. Addressing me, he asked, "Lily, did you get Head Girl?"

I nodded and pulled the badge from the pocket of my rucksack, in which were my robes. Sirius, Remus, and Peter congratulated me, while Potter looked alternately afraid and thrilled to my right.

"Lily," begged Sirius when the others fell silent, "will you please go easy on me and my pranks?"

I regarded him. "No, Black."

"Aww, Lily!"

I laughed and turned to Remus. "So, did you get Head Boy?" I asked, over Sirius's protests.

Remus blinked. "Well... no."

"Really?" I said, stunned.

Remus blinked again, his eyes going back and forth between me and Potter. "Um, Lily..."

Sirius had also shut up and was also blinking at me. The blinking thing was getting to me, making me feel like I, too, had to blink... "You don't know who got Head Boy?" he asked.

I shook my head, slightly irritated. "Well, obviously not."

Suddenly Potter nudged me. "Hey, Evans, how much would you say you hated me?"

"A hell of a lot. With all my being." I answered without hesitation.

"Oh," he answered. "Well, this year might be interesting."

My eyes widened as an impossible thought came into my mind. I turned and really looked into his face for the first time that day. "Wait. Potter, you don't mean-"

Quickly, Potter took my chin in one of his big hands and before I could slap him, gently positioned my head so I could see his chest, well muscled by Quidditch. It was covered by a uniform and black robes, on which was pinned a...

"Oh no," I whispered, looking in shock at the scarlet and gold badge. "Oh no."

Alice gaped at Potter. "James? You're Head Boy?" She turned to face Remus. "What happened?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. I got prefect again, though."

Potter smirked at my unhappiness. "Well, Evans, I'd say we're going to be spending a lot of time together this year."

"How did this happen?" I whispered. "You're a Marauder! And not a Remus-like Marauder! A Sirius Black-like Marauder!"

Colleen giggled. "You've shocked her so much, James, that she can't talk sense anymore."

Alice patted my back. "It's okay, Lily. Who knows? Maybe he'll change," she whispered.

I pressed my hands to my forehead as the train continued to rattle towards the castle. James Potter, stage a reformation? Yeah, right. As I watched the Marauders bewitch the door to our compartment so Severus Snape and one of his Slytherin friends walked into an invisible wall when they tried to get in, I thought, _This year will definitely be interesting._


	3. Let the Pranks Begin, Part 1

A/N: Okay so this is my first fan fiction

A/N: Hello! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, it means a lot to me. Thanks especially to **xterxashley8**for your kind words and for making me one of your favorite authors and this one of your favorite stories! This chapter is a little long and not really funny/fluffy, but a lot of more serious (Sirius... heehee) stuff had to be introduced. So, the author will now stop talking and let you read, review (hint hint), and enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Yes, James is mine. No, actually, he's Lily's, and J.K.'s. And everything else is J.K.'s, too. Go figure.

**My Thunder**

**Chapter 3**

**Let the Pranks Begin, Part 1**

**James**

Lily, her friends Alice and Colleen, the Marauders and I, along with another friend of ours, Frank Longbottom, all walked into the Great Hall together, much to Lily's dissatisfaction. We sat at a table together and listened and watched as the first years were Sorted and as Dumbledore read off the announcements of the new term. By the time he was finished, I could hear Lily's stomach growling from across the table and, when she glanced at me, blushing and glaring, daring me to say something, I merely smirked.

Finally, food appeared and we dug in, eating and talking. Lily cast a suspicious glance at me every once and a while. I ate, talked to my friends, her friends, flirted with two nearby fifth years, and glanced back. I guessed that she was making sure I didn't try any pranks, so I winked at her and said, "Don't worry, Lilykins. All pranks are scheduled to start tomorrow." She gave me one of her customary Ice Queen of Gryffindor glares and then turned to talk to Alice and Frank, who were sitting to her left.

When everyone was stuffed, the food disappeared and students began to leave, filtering towards their dorms with their prefects at their heads. Remus and another girl headed out at the front of the group of Gryffindors, and I got up to follow them.

Before I could go, though, I heard Dumbledore call, "Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, could you come here, please?"

I glanced at where Lily was sitting across the table and was struck, as always, by how beautiful her green eyes were. She looked at me disdainfully and then stood, sweeping off to where Dumbledore stood by the door, immersing herself in the throng of students. I followed, making sure not to tip over the bench in my hurry. I quickly walked to where the two of them stood, joining them in a few seconds.

The old man nodded when I reached them and, beckoning us to follow him, he moved into the hallway with us walking after. Soon we came to a stop in front of the large gargoyle that guarded his office. Smiling at us, he said to the stone guard, "Sugar Quills," and when the creature leapt to the side, he moved up the stairs to his office.

I followed Lily up the stairs, only to stop and stare when I got into the office. I had never been here before. McGonagall had taken care of all my disciplining in her own office.

There was a large desk, and all along the walls were portraits of past Hogwarts headmasters. In a corner stood a stone basin and along one of the walls was a table holding all manner of strange objects.

Most fantastic, however, was the phoenix bird on the perch beside the desk, preening and whistling to itself. I had heard rumors about this bird. Ffawkes, it was called.

When I tore my eyes from the bird's fantastic red, orange, and gold plumage, I noticed Lily sitting down in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. I followed suit. The headmaster sat across from us, behind his desk. He leaned forward and arranged his fingers in a steeple in front of him.

"Now, first I would like to congratulate you on achieving the positions of Head Boy and Girl," Dumbledore started, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Thank you, sir," Lily and I said in unison.

Dumbledore continued, giving us the typical briefing about our duties, the passwords we would need, and the requests that prefects had put in for patrol nights. Finally, he turned to us, his normal cheery demeanor darkening slightly.

"As you know, Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter, we are living in dark times. Lord Voldemort is at large and killing many non-purebloods. In times like these," Dumbledore said, regarding first Lily, then me, with a seriousness uncharacteristic to him, "one needs to have experience with a practical application of magic. However, merely performing spells in class does not really teach students how to fight. So, I am putting into effect a new plan."

He passed to me and Lily a piece of parchment, and we bent over it, me trying to keep from taking a big sniff of the scent of lilacs that filled the air around Lily. But the schedule on the parchment soon distracted me. "Um, Professor," I said. "What's this?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I'm glad you asked. You see, as Head Boy and Girl, I believe that the two of you should have the schedule for the rest of the attacks I have planned for the school."

Lily and I stared at him like his silver beard had just spoken. (Though, in the wizarding world, that wouldn't be considered so odd.) "I'm... sorry, sir, but I don't think I understand," Lily said, hesitatingly.

Dumbledore nodded again. "Let me explain. In regards to practical use of magic, I myself shall be taking over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, where I shall be teaching students practical applications of standard, useful spells, before moving on to more complicated spells.

"To further reinforce training, I shall schedule attacks on classes, dorms, and perhaps even the whole Great Hall at dinner some time by using spell-casting mannequins controlled by a few of us higher ranking teachers, such as myself and professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Slughorn, and Sprout.

"Here, on this schedule," and Dumbledore pointed to the piece of parchment, "you can see the dates and places for attacks scheduled at night, during patrol hours, so you can avoid patrolling in these areas and concentrate on areas that need looking-after. I have copies here for you to give to the prefects." He gestured to a stack of papers on his desk.

Lily and I stared at the page. What he was talking about, what with spell-casting mannequins, Voldemort at large, and practical applications of spells, was frightening and high-ranking stuff, and needless to say I was feeling a little nervous. However, Lily spotted something that I should have picked up on.

"Um, Professor Dumbledore," Lily spoke up again, "there aren't any scheduled, uh... 'attacks' for the Head tower. Aren't Potter and I to be tested? And the prefects?"

Dumbledore beamed at her. "Always a bright one, Ms. Evans," he said. "Yes, you and Mr. Potter shall be tested, but you will not know ahead of time. The prefects, also, shall be ignorant of their testing times. It shall be a surprise to you when it happens."

Lily nodded. After looking at us for a moment to make sure we had no more questions, Dumbledore said, "Very well, then, I suggest you go see your new dorms. They are very nice, I've heard."

We stood. "Thanks, sir," said Lily, who then turned and walked out the door. I waited until she was out of ear shot before turning to Dumbledore.

"Um, Professor," I started, "I'm sorry for not asking this before, but..."

"But you did not want to appear weak before Ms. Evans." The old man's blue eyes were kind. "Understood, Mr. Potter. What is it you wish to know?"

"Well, will anyone be, you know, hurt? In these 'attacks', I mean," I said.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No. Perhaps bruised, or knocked out, but really what we are aiming to do is startle the students into defending, and to give them a taste of what a battle is like. We do not wish to injure them. Perhaps a few Stunning spells, Expelliamus, Levicorpus, but nothing fatal or dangerous. Since the mannequins are not human, of course, dangerous spells may be, and probably will be, used in return."

I nodded, relieved. "All right. Thanks, sir," I said, moving towards the door.

"You are quite welcome, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore answered, as I closed the door behind me.

I hurried down the stairs and ran to catch up to Lily, who thankfully hadn't gotten that far ahead of me in the corridor. We walked in silence as the castle grew steadily darker, me carrying the stack of schedules for the prefects, she carrying the requests prefects had made for patrol nights. Finally, we reached the portrait that concealed the entrance to our new dorm.

It depicted a black haired witch and a black haired wizard, sitting next to each other. They opened their dark eyes in unison and asked, smiling pleasantly, "Password?"

"Giant Squid," Lily said confidently.

The pair nodded and intoned, "Proceed," swinging open. Lily scrambled in, and I heard a soft, "Oh..." I quickly hurried in after her, entering the Head tower's common room.

It was decorated much like the one in Gryffindor tower, with scarlet and gold hangings, a few couches and arm chairs, a large fireplace, and three floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the lake and the forest. By the windows were two wooden tables with a few chairs around each. After looking around, I walked across the room to the staircase and began climbing.

Thirty stairs later I was at the landing. On one side was a door that had a plaque on it stating, in gold lettering, _Lily Evans, Head Girl, Gryffindor_.

The other door to my right had my name on the plaque. _James Potter, Head Boy, Gryffindor. _I tried the door, found it locked, and pointed my wand at it. "Alohamora."

The lock clicked and I opened the door, blinking and then smiling at the room. The walls were green, with posters of famous Quidditch players and teams on them. My broom was in the grip of two hooks driven into the wall, and a shelf in the corner held my books and some Quidditch magazines. The window looked out on the corner of the lake and a branch of the Whomping Willow. Another door indicated the presence of a bathroom. On a small desk my white owl Ophelia surveyed her new domain.

"Nice, eh, 'Phelia?" I said to her, as I opened my trunk to take out the rucksack of items necessary to my survival that I took everywhere. When I had that, I closed the door, pulled off my uniform and robes (the teachers would handle patrolling for the first week of school until Lily and I had a patrol schedule set up) and put on sweatpants and a tee-shirt.

I heard Lily coming up the stairs as I finished, and, curious about her room, I slung my bag onto my shoulder and left my room.

She was twisting the handle of her door. "Try Alohamora," I said helpfully. She sighed, and I knew she was annoyed about having to take my advice about anything. However, she silently tapped her wand to the door, and it swung open. _Silent spell-casting... nice,_ I thought as I followed her in, leaning against the doorway.

Her room was painted light purple, with white curtains over a window that overlooked the courtyard. She smiled, fingering the white bedspread with its small, embroidered, purple lilies, before hurrying to the white bookshelf with its contingent of books that I would never have even looked at, things like _Dangerous Potions and Practical Antidotes_. Her trunk sat in the center of her room, unopened.

Lily turned and saw me standing there. She frowned. "Can I help you, Potter?"

I grinned. "You can always help me, Evans."

She sighed. "Enough lewd comments, Potter."

I hesitated, then decided that I didn't want to be hexed into oblivion on the first day of school. "Okay. I'm going downstairs." I held up a blank piece of parchment. "Could you bring down the requests from the prefects for patrol times when you're done? I want to start the schedule."

Lily said, "Here, take them now. I want to unpack a little," and handed me the slips of parchment. She then waved me out of her room, shutting and locking the door behind me.

I wandered down the stairs, settling onto one of the cushioned chairs at a table before she came down. I pulled out the requests and began categorizing them, older students getting first choice, and then, after sketching the timetable out on a blank piece of parchment, began putting pairs into different time slots.

By the time Lily came down, I was thoroughly engrossed in my work, barely glancing at her when she sat down in a chair. "Hey, I've got the first three slots filled," I greeted her. "We need to fill the final four, and then that leaves us to pick what pairs we'll patrol with."

Lily bent over the page, her red hair hanging down in a curtain around her face. "I think that we should patrol with these two groups," she said, pointing out two pairs made of first time prefects. "Especially with the new 'attacks' that are scheduled and everything."

"Fine. Doesn't detract from Quidditch time, so I'm happy." I tapped my wand to the final couple of slots, adding pairs and then Lily and myself. "Okay, do you want to look at this?"

She snorted. "Of course, Potter." I handed her the page and she pored over it, me watching her. She was wearing a black tank top and black shorts that hugged her body. I sighed inwardly. Why was she so beautiful? "All right," she said, finally, startling me out of my reverie. "It's fine." She stood.

"Bed, Evans?"

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow, unfortunately."

I grinned as she left the room. "Good-night, Lilykins."

"'Night, Potter," she answered.

I waited until I heard her door shut before delving into my rucksack and pulling out a small mirror. Staring at my reflection, I whispered, "Padfoot? Pads?"

Sirius's handsome face finally appeared, blocking my reflection. Remus and Peter appeared behind him. "Hey Prongs," answered Sirius. "How's the lovely Lilykins?"

"Gone to bed for the night," I sighed. Then, thinking of our prank for the next morning, I brightened. "Shall I come get you three? We do have a prank to prepare."

"Of course," answered Remus. "We'll be waiting."

"Right, see you, Moony, Wormtail, Pads." I stuffed the mirror into my bag, and pulled out a cloak. After checking to make sure Lily wasn't coming down, I swept on the Invisibility Cloak, and then crept out of the Head common room. Time to prank.

A/N: Again, I'm sorry it wasn't very fluffy/funny... the next couple of chapters will be less serious and more funny/fluffy, so please, stick with me!

And REVIEW! I really want to know what the people who read this story think! So if you read, review! begs on hands and knees (Oh, and check out my story "Reflections on Happy Endings", too, please).

And that's it for me!

))Riiko Shea((


	4. Let the Pranks Begin, Part 2

A/N: Okay so this is my first fan fiction

**A/N:** Hello again! Before I anything else, I want to thank my reviewers, all of those who have put alerts on me and my story, and everyone who has read this story. You guys are truly awesome.

This is the first chapter where the perspective changes mid-chapter from James to Lily... hopefully everyone enjoys the Marauders' first prank and Lily and James's... ah... run-in. So please, read, and then review!! Enjoy! (P.S. I'm going to Pennsylvania for a few days this week so I might not update for a while... not like I've been being consistent recently anyways...)

**Disclaimer: ** Guess what? I own the multi-million dollar name that is Harry Potter! NOT. Wow, that was shocking. It's J.K.'s.

**My Thunder**

**Chapter Four**

**Let the Pranks Begin, Part 2**

**James**

After slipping out of the Head tower, I pulled out my wand from my bag, along with a blank piece of parchment. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," I whispered, tapping my wand to the page, and then, "_Lumos_."

When my wand was lit, I held it over the page, peering at the Marauder's Map. All the teachers were in their private offices or living quarters except for the teachers patrolling. They were Flitwick, patrolling in the Charms corridor, (expected and easily avoidable) and Slughorn, standing guard by the Great Hall, (probably dozing off.) All good. I quickly made my way to Gryffindor Tower, pulling down the cloak and smiling at the Fat Lady when I got there. "Dirigible Plums," I said.

She nodded sleepily, used to my comings and goings in the dead of night, and swung open. Inside the common room, standing at the ready, were the other three Marauders. I smiled and held up the cloak. "Ready, mates?"

))Begin flashback((

"First day of class," Remus explained, when we were planning, "we have Transfiguration with the Slytherins right away. We can set off something fantastic if someone gets there in time to do the selective start-up charm."

"Something exciting... I don't want to do anything painful to the Slytherins when Gryffindors might get hurt," I said. "Plus, McGonagall isn't too fond of our pranks..."

"Mm... don't want to tread on her toes," Sirius nodded, lounging on my bed. We were in my room the week before the last week of summer holidays. "Right, well, I don't want to set it off. I'd probably mess it up anyways..."

"And not me," said Peter. He was curled up on my desk chair, chewing on a piece of candy he had taken from my stash.

"Moony?" I asked Remus. He was leaning against my bookshelf.

He shook his head. "It'll be right after the full moon, and I'll be exhausted. Staying up ahead of time to set up won't help that fact, either."

"All right, me then," I said, and we began plotting.

))End flashback((

Now, in the Transfiguration corridor, we were setting up the spells needed for the prank in the morning. Remus paced up and down the corridor, getting closer to the opposite wall, waving his wand and murmuring the spell for the actual prank. I followed, doing the selective follow up, that would keep any adults who came to investigate out of the prank. Sirius followed, doing a back-up jinx to keep it in place until noon the next day, and Peter just sat on the floor, holding the Cloak, watching, and moving when he had to.

At 1:25 the next morning, we were done. I dropped off Remus, Sirius, and a dozing Peter at Gryffindor tower, and then found my way back to the Head tower with ease. Slipping up the stairs, I put away my cloak, tapped the Map with my wand, whispering, "Mischief managed," and then got into bed, knowing Ophelia would wake me up at 7:30, just like she did every morning (unless Sirius got to me first). Tomorrow, the school term would start with a bang.

**Lily**

The first day of classes dawned bright and clear. I sat up, stretching, and then glanced at the clock I had conjured on my bed side table the night before. 7:45. I nodded. I was right on time.

Quickly I showered, dressed, and then pushed my books for Transfiguration and my other classes in my bag.

Grabbing my wand, I kissed Andromeda on her black head where she lay, curled up on my desk, and then ran from my room, turned the corner to the stairs...

And ran headlong into James Potter, who also was going down the stairs. He swore and then began to fall. I screamed and tumbled after. His eyes wide, he hit the ground on the bottom with a thud, and was up in less than a second, with his arms outstretched to grab me before I could hit the floor.

Luckily, his aim and reflexes were good, and I slammed into his arms. However, my momentum drove him to the floor again, and I lay there, stunned and sore, on top of him.

When I lifted my head from his chest, I could see his glasses were askew over closed eyes. I fixed his glasses and then rolled off of him. I knelt beside him and shook his shoulder. He didn't move. _It would be SO like him,_ I thought, _to pass out and make me late for class to take him to the hospital wing._

"Potter," I said, shaking his shoulder again. "Potter?" His eyes remained closed. I began to get worried. "Oh my gosh, James Potter, if you are seriously injured because of me... Aguamenti!" I cried, pointing my wand at his face so a jet of water hit him. After a moment, he groaned.

"Okay, okay, Padfoot, I'm-" He opened his eyes and saw me. I cut the stream of water and looked at him, worriedly, only to have him grab my hand.

"Lily! Are you all right?"

I smiled, sighing with relief. _Relief?! Uh... this is POTTER we're talking about, Lily, don't feel relieved about him. We'd be better off if he died._ I told the voice in my head to shut up. "Yes, I'm fine. More importantly, are you? I was afraid I wouldn't be able to wake you..."

Potter stretched and winced, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm okay, I think. Just a little sore. Are we late?"

I checked my watch. "Not yet, come on."

I tugged him to his feet and we climbed out of the portrait hole together. We raced through the corridors without talking, but the whole time I was glancing at the large bruise on the back of his neck and thinking, _He saved me from that bruise, from passing out... I really should thank him... _

Finally, right before we reached the door to the Transfiguration corridor, I turned to face Potter, grabbing his wrist to make him stop. He did so, a confused look on his bespectacled face.

"Okay, I know that within two minutes I'll probably be furious at you for something, so I'm going to tell you right now thanks for catching me, and I'm sorry for running into you." My guilty conscience assuaged, I turned, but before I could move away, Potter grabbed me and spun me around, his eyes shocked.

"Lily... did you just apologize AND thank me? At the same time?" Potter's face and tone held such comic disbelief it was hard not to laugh.

"Yes," I answered. "But don't get used to it. Now let go of me. I don't want to be late."

He complied and I turned the corner, only to run into a group of Slytherins and Gryffindors, all of whom were staring at the door to the Transfiguration corridor. "What's up?" I asked a Gryffindor standing next to me, Mary McDonald, who looked at me, slightly confused.

"The door is locked, which, you know, never happens. So we're waiting for something to happen."

I blinked. I had a feeling that the Marauders' prank was on the other side of the door. I turned to the door and I saw, out of the corner of my eye Remus and Sirius greeting Potter. I fully faced them and watched as Potter pulled out his wand and pointed it inconspicuously at the large wooden doors to the corridor.

They swung open with loud creaks of protest. Chattering loudly, the first group of students pressed in, as if nothing were amiss...

...Only to disappear from sight with shrieks of shock. I gasped, and followed the rest of the Slytherins and Gryffindors to the door. Other students began to file in when they heard laughter echoing from the room, but I still hesitated, right at the edge of the corridor.

Finally, I gathered my courage, closed my eyes, and stepped into the corridor. Nothing seemed to happen. Sighing with relief I opened my eyes- and screamed. I was upside down, my feet on the ceiling, along with all the other Gryffindor and Slytherin seventh years. I closed my eyes and opened them again. Yep, that was definitely the floor down there.

Alice and Colleen ran over to me (on the ceiling!) and began to tug me towards the center of the room. They had, apparently, gotten to class before me. "This is incredible," Colleen gushed as she grabbed my left arm.

"Extremely advanced magic," added Alice as she pulled my right arm.

I had to agree. It was a complete gravity reversal charm, which is to say that, instead of my hair hanging around my face and my skirt and robes lifting to show my knickers, like they would if I hung on the monkey bars in a Muggle playground, everything was in its proper place. There was no blood rushing to my head or anything.

Remus, Sirius, Peter, and Potter came over to join us. Alice and Colleen began to applaud, and they bowed. When Potter and Sirius straightened, they looked nervously at me. I noticed Remus looking a little worriedly at me, too, so grudgingly, I began to clap.

Sirius gasped and started tugging energetically on Potter's sleeve, pointing at me and opening and closing his mouth. Potter blinked and said, "Uh, Padfoot?" Sirius ignored him and continued his strange antics.

I finally asked, "Black, what the hell are you doing?"

He stopped jumping and said, "You're clapping! Lily Evans, Ice Queen of Gryffindor, is clapping for one of _our _pranks!" Sirius fell to the floor (um, ceiling...) in a mock faint. Alice, Colleen, the Marauders and I all laughed as Sirius's foot twitched comically.

"Stop being stupid, Black," I said. "And "Ice Queen of Gryffindor"? What does that-"

"_What_ is going on here?"

Every head turned. The hallway fell silent. The stern voice's owner, Professor Minerva McGonagall, stood in the doorway to her classroom, hands on hips, face disapproving, her eyes perusing the students on the ceiling. Then, slowly, deliberately, she stepped into the hallway. There was a collective gasp from all of the students, except for the four Marauders, who merely smiled. I couldn't understand it. Any second now, she was going to flip upside down, into the air, and she would truly kill them.

But McGonagall didn't flip over and float to the ceiling. Her feet remained quite firmly on the ground. I turned and saw Sirius, Remus, and Potter patting each other on the back. Clearly, the selective charm they had layered over the complete gravity reversal charm had worked.

McGonagall strolled underneath us, before turning her head up to look at the four Marauders. I noticed all of their faces paled slightly. "This is, I must admit," she said, her eyes twinkling at them, despite her stern demeanor, "a very impressive piece of sorcery, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Lupin." I smiled inwardly at the fact that she had left out Peter. McGonagall walked back to the classroom. She turned before entering, though, and said, "I assume there is a way to get everyone down?"

Potter smiled. "Yes ma'am." He turned as she walked into the Transfiguration classroom and said, "All right, you lot. One moment."

He dug out his wand and murmured something. All of us slowly fell to the ground, flipping in midair so our feet landed on the ground. "We'll have to leave the counter-charm with McGonagall, for the next class," I heard Potter say to Remus, who chuckled.

Students started moving towards the classroom, and I followed, Alice and Colleen trotting after me, the Marauders dropping back to congratulate themselves. Alice tugged my robes and whispered, "Why were you late? You're usually, like, twenty minutes early for the first class of the year."

"Um..." was my intelligent reply. I walked a little faster, hoping to be inside the classroom and therefore avoid questioning, but Alice and Colleen kept pace with me.

"And, Lily, you walked in with James Potter, the guy you profess to hate, and you were _blushing," _added Colleen. "What happened?"

I winced. I hadn't known I'd been blushing, but really, I should have guessed. Having to apologize and thank Potter had been humiliating and embarrassing, and running into him hadn't exactly been fun either. I shook my head. "I'll tell you later, okay?" I said, taking my seat. Luckily, McGonagall then started the class.

Unfortunately, as the class continued, Alice and Colleen's eyes never left me. They were not going to let me get out of this one, I knew. And once I had told them the events of the morning, they would give me the whole talk about why Potter was the right guy for me and why we were meant for each other.

I concentrated on taking notes. Tonight, I knew, the questioning would go on and on, and studying would earn me a respite from my friends... and from my own confused thoughts.

**A/N:** And the plot thickens! (I'm not sure, actually, if the magic used for the Marauders' prank actually exists, which is why the incantations are never actually said out loud. But it is a fanfic, so...) I hope you liked it. Tell me by clicking on that tiny little button that says, "Go". You know the one. It's staring at you, saying, "Click me... CLICK ME!"

Well, thanks for reading! (And check out "Reflections on Happy Endings". If you have a little time.)

))Riiko Shea((


	5. Quidditch, Insults, and a Faint Hope

**A/N: **Hello again! I want to thank all my reviewers, as well as anyone who had read this story or put it on alert... but I had a disappointing number of reviews for the last chapter. I don't want to sound greedy or anything, and the ones I had were great, (love you guys!) but still... do you readers even like this story? Please let me know... I don't want to write stuff no one likes.

So anyways, here is the next chapter of My Thunder!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing that isn't mine. Which means I don't own Harry Potter. Which means that I'm sad.

**My Thunder**

**Chapter 5**

**Quidditch, Insults, and a Faint Hope**

**James**

The first day of school was... interesting. After the prank, which had went over well, I had performed well in Charms, managed to avoid being eaten by the giant stump-like thing that attacked me during Herbology, and struggled, producing a fine Draught of the Living Dead in Potions.

Defense Against the Dark Arts had also been interesting. We had filed into the classroom a little nervously, not sure what to expect from the old silver-bearded man standing at the front of the class.

Dumbledore smiled benignly. "Hello students. I am pleased to be your instructor for Defense Against he Dark Arts this term." Everyone except Lily and I looked surprised. I reminded myself that we had to tell the prefects about the changes being made to the school's curriculum.

"However," Dumbledore continued, "during the year I shall enlist the helped of several of our other teachers to instruct you in performing their favorite and most effective spells for defending oneself and others from Dark wizards or witches."

He turned and, using his wand, wrote in the air several spells. They showed up in gold; _Expelliamus_, _Levicorpus_, _Protego_, _Homenum revelio_, and _Expecto Patronum_, along with a few others. He turned back to the class and his eyes sought out each face in the group of Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors.

"Now, pair up," he said. "We will start by practicing the disarming charm." He ran us through the motions, and then we began to pair up.

To my surprise, Lily hurried over to where Remus, Sirius, and I were sitting, minus Peter, who hadn't done well enough to make it into the class.

"One of you, work with me. _Please_," she whispered. I glanced over her shoulder to see Alice and Colleen determinedly hurrying towards her, their faces set. I leapt up.

"You can count on us, Evans. No one deserves an inquiry from _your_ friends," I said, and she smiled, thankfully. Remus grinned at her.

"Come on, Lily, you can work with me."

I moved into place next to them with Sirius. Colleen rolled her eyes at Lily and pulled Mary McKinnon over, and Alice, sighing but not looking too unhappy, pulled over Frank.

I easily disarmed Sirius, and Lily did the same to Remus, Sirius and Remus also completing the task easily. While we waited for the rest of the pairs to finish, I strained my ears, enhanced by my stag animagus form, to hear what Lily and Remus were saying.

"Lily, what's wrong?" Remus was asking.

Lily blushed, her face matching her hair. "Well, uh, I guess Alice and Colleen think that Potter and I were doing something, uh... inappropriate... this morning, which is why we were late."

"And why _were_ you late?" he asked.

Lily blushed even more, the red leeching down her neck. "Uh, well, I sort of... ran-into-him-on-the-stairs-and-knocked-him-out," she said all in a rush.

Remus looked at her incredulously for a moment before bursting into laughter. Lily tried to scowl but began laughing, too. Sirius, who had been listening as well, looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I turned so he could see the bruise on the back of my neck. He grinned.

I concentrated on Lily and Remus's conversation again, but Remus, sensing Lily's discomfort, had changed the subject to the Charms exam next week. I sighed inwardly and turned back to the front of the room, where Dumbledore was gazing at us happily. "Again," he said.

For the rest of the class we disarmed and were disarmed. Finally, Dumbledore said, "All right. You are finished for today. Tomorrow, we discuss the goal we hope to reach by Christmas, a full Patronus, and will practice the levitating charm."

As everyone stood and left the room, chattering and laughing, Colleen and Alice walked quickly to Lily. She looked nervously at them. Remus shrugged.

"Might as well get it over with, Lily," he said.

She groaned. "Right. Well, thanks, guys," she said, and then slipped through the crowd to meet her friends.

I looked at my friends and grinned. "Well, that was a pleasant day, eh?" I said. Sirius smirked and Remus looked at me thoughtfully. I blinked. "What?"

"Nothing," answered Remus. "Let's go, you've got Quidditch."

I nodded and hurried to my room to change into my Quidditch robes and to grab my broom, as Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I met Sirius also uniformed, at the pitch.

I surveyed my team, proudly. We had been working hard and were the best team in years. Alice, a sixth year guy named Bryan McMahon, and myself were Chasers, Frank was Keeper, Sirius and Mary McDonald were Beaters, and Seeker was second year Jacob Thomas. I smiled. They deserved a treat. "Scrimmage, anyone?"

They cheered and teamed up. Alice, Sirius, Frank, and Jacob formed one team, each going to play their usual position. Mary, Bryan, and I were on the other team. I volunteered to play Keeper, then looked up at the stands where Colleen, Lily, Peter, and Remus sat. "One of you want to play Seeker on my team?"

Colleen shook her head. "You don't want to see me on a broom." Remus too declined, holding up his book as an excuse. Peter rolled his eyes, as if to say, "Me, on a broom? Come on, Prongs." I looked imploringly at Lily.

"Please, Evans? For me?"

She glared at me. "I would never do anything for you, you git," she snapped. "I'll do it for Alice and Frank and Mary." She stepped down from the bleachers and hurried to one of the broom lockers by the changing rooms.

While we waited for her to come back, I pulled from my pocket my special Snitch. I had never used it in a scrimmage before, and the only person who had touched it before was me, and occasionally, Sirius.

But Lily was going to be playing Seeker, and that meant my Snitch, not the worn out practice Snitch.

I also grabbed a case holding two practice Bludgers and a scuffed Quaffle. We were set.

When Lily came back and had swung a leg over the broom, I said, "Ready, everyone?"

"Ready!" everyone answered, and I released the balls.

The Bludgers flew into the air, hovered for a moment, and then soared after Frank and Mary, both of whom swore. Mary swung her bat and sent one flying at Alice, who ducked, while Frank dodged and headed to the goalposts. The Snitch, going unnoticed by everyone, soared into the air.

I headed to my goalposts, watching Lily and Jacob soar above us, squinting around, searching for the little golden Snitch. Turning my attention back to the game, I saw Alice coming at me, Mary chasing after her, Quaffle in her grip. She threw it and I caught it, tossing it to Bryan who soared away, _whooshing _past Sirius.

Frank, however, stopped the shot, and passed the ball to Alice, who caught it, hugged it to herself, and shot forward, only to be hit on the arm with a Bludger. "Nice, Mary!" I shouted, as Alice dropped the Quaffle and Bryan dove, catching it and heading for Frank.

The game went back and forth, Remus, Peter, and Colleen, on the ground keeping score. Finally, I saw Lily dive for the ground, followed by Jacob. I clenched my fists and yelled, "Go, Lily! Go!" She stretched out her hand... closer... closer...

"Yes!" she screamed, and she held up her hand. Caught in her fist was my Snitch, its wings fluttering tiredly. I laughed and pumped the air with my fist.

The team landed on the grass, everyone congratulating her. When I landed I grinned at her. "Nicely done," I said approvingly. "When did you learn how to play Quidditch like that?"

Her green eyes were sparkling with happiness, and due to said happiness, she answered me quite civilly with, "Mary and Alice taught me."

"They taught you well, then," said Sirius, patting her on the back.

I nodded in agreement and then held out my hand. "Can I have my Snitch back, please?"

She nodded and placed it in my outstretched hand. I tucked it away in my pocket and turned to Peter and Remus, (who had walked down from the stands) and Sirius, and said, "Let's get going, mates. I've got a ton of homework..."

Remus frowned sourly. "You really shouldn't complain, Prongs," he said. "I have to do my work, _and_Padfoot's."

Sirius patted Remus on the shoulder. "That's tough, Moony. But don't be so serious."

Remus smirked. "I don't have to be. You are."

Sirius sighed as everyone laughed. "Don't you _ever_ get tired of that?" he asked despondently. I roared with laughter.

"Nope. Sorry, Paddy," I gasped, doubled over.

"Don't call me Paddy!" he shouted. "It makes me sound young and immature."

Everyone looked at him for a moment, and then started howling again. "Oh, yeah, that make sense, because you, Black, are the most mature person I've ever met," sputtered Lily. As everyone cracked up again, we waved and left, before poor Padfoot could be abused any more.

Sirius and I went to our respective dorms and changed, then met Peter and Remus in the Great Hall for dinner. We sat by Lily, Colleen, Frank, and Alice. When we had finished, we all walked out of the Great Hall, and after bidding good-bye tothe Marauders, I followed Lily down the corridor to the Head Tower. I smiled slightly. I might as well ask her out, while we were alone...

"Evans! Hey, Lily!"

She stopped and stood with her back to me for a moment, then turned. "What?"

"Will you go-"

"No!" she shouted. "For like, the six MILLIONTH time, NO! I will NOT go out with you!"

"Why not?" I yelled back. This really was annoying. She had not reason to NOT go out with me. I had a feeling she just said no now out of habit.

"Why not?" she asked, her voice rising, nearing an octave that only dogs, Sirius, and Remus would be able to hear. "Why not? Because you're an arrogant toerag! Because you're cocky and you snog everything that moves and wears a skirt! Because you hex people for no reason!"

My jaw dropped. "I do NOT snog everything that wears a skirt!"

"See? You're only fixated on yourself. Now get away from me, before I hex you," she hissed, raising her wand.

I raised my hands in defeat, but could not resist taking a step towards her. "Lily-"

"You asked for it!" she shouted, and her wand moved. Suddenly, I felt my hands being yanked behind me, and bound with and invisible rope. Her wand moved again, and this time my face felt tight. Lily stepped back, and then turned and ran.

I squirmed and shouted, "Sirius! SIRIUS!"

Sirius came around the corner, quickly enough that I knew he had been there the whole time. I sighed. "Who else is there with you, and for how long have they been there?"

Remus, Alice, Colleen, Frank, and Peter stepped out from around the corner. Remus sighed, withdrew his wand, and set about letting me down. This was routine- he and Sirius had been helping me after bouts of Lily-wrath since I had first asked Lily out all those years ago.

Sirius was guffawing when I finally was free. "What?" I asked, annoyed. He grinned and waved his wand. A mirror appeared in front of me. I groaned. My face was a bright shade of pink. Lovely. I turned to Remus. "Help, Moony," I begged. "Please."

He smirked. "No."

I gaped. "You choose NOW to be a Marauder?" Remus nodded. I glared. "I hate you."

Sirius sighed. "Fine, _I_ shall pity you, Prongs," he said, and with a wave of his wand, my skin felt much less tight and was restored to its natural tan. I sighed with relief.

"Thanks, Padfoot," I said, and then turned to the rest of the group. "Now, can anyone tell me what the heck Lily was just talking about?"

Alice and Colleen shook their heads at my stupidity. "Well, James," answered Alice, "she hates you, plain and simple. She thinks you're a conceited, arrogant toerag."

"Um... why?" I asked.

Colleen groaned. "Think!" she cried. "All you've ever done is ask her out, and hex her one-time best friend, and go around acting like you're the best thing ever."

I blinked. "Really?" Hmm... now that I thought of it, I did do those things... but was I that bad?

"I have a good side, though!" I protested, pulling myself out of my reverie. "I'm loyal to my friends, I helped that third year this morning... well, it was part of my duties as Head Boy, but still..."

Alice shook her head. "Of course she'd think you're conceited. Because honestly, if you have a good side, you never show it."

"So what can I do?" I asked despondently, sinking to the ground and putting my head in my hands.

Colleen looked at me. "You really do care about her, don't you?" she said softly. I nodded.

"I do," I said to my knees. "But I don't know how to make her understand that."

Colleen knelt next to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Just talk to her the way you talk to us. Be her friend. Then you can try to be her boyfriend." I looked up at her skeptically.

"You still think I have a chance to even be her friend?" I asked.

Alice grinned. "Of course you do. Give it a try. See what happens."

**A/N:** So what do you think? Let me know by clicking that little purple button. All I need is one word, if that's all you want to write! Please!!

(P.S. Does anyone know what form Remus's Patronus takes? I think that it might Moony, like, a werewolf or just a regular wolf, but I can't seem to find the answer anywhere. So PM me or put the answer in your review! Thanks!)

))Riiko Shea((


	6. Cold Water, an Experiment, and a Fever

**A/N: **Oh my gosh... I'm in double digits for reviews!! hundreds of fanfiction authors who have hundreds of reviews regard author with digust Oh, well, it still makes me feel loved! You guys are so awesome! Keep them coming!

And now here is Chapter 6 of My Thunder!

**Disclaimer: **It isn't mine, you say? Wow, that's an astute observation!

**My Thunder**

**Chapter 6**

**Cold Water, an Experiment, and a Fever**

**Lily**

I was fairly surprised when Alice and Colleen didn't come into the Head Tower to bug me that night. I had given them the password on the walk back from the Quidditch pitch, but they didn't show. I thanked my lucky stars and went up to my room to do my homework before Potter showed up.

The next morning when I woke up, I had a headache and felt kind of sick. Dismissing it as a cold, I got dressed and packed my bag.

I was careful not to run to the stairs, but it appeared Potter had already left for breakfast. I hurried to the portrait hole, pushed it open, crawled out...

...And was promptly doused with a bucket of the coldest water it has been my misfortune to be soaked in. I screamed and tumbled out of the portrait hole, swearing like a sailor. Looking up, my teeth chattering, my damp hair clinging to my face, I saw the horrified expression of one Sirius Black, the amused face of Remus Lupin, and the small, meek smile on Peter Pettigrew. Spotting the bucket being suspended at the end of Sirius's wand, I guessed who was responsible for my morning dousing.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" I roared, whipping out my wand. He yelped.

"Lily, calm down!" he shouted, fleeing down the hallway.

"Calm down?!" I shouted back. "You slimy git! Have YOU ever been doused in FREEZING COLD water at 7:30 in the effing morning?" I murmured, "_Aguamenti_!" and waved my wand, sending jets of the chilliest water I could produce at him. He shrieked in a very unmanly manner and leapt a foot in the air. Turning over my shoulder, I called, "Remus, can you clean up, please?" He nodded and I followed Sirius, continuously dousing him.

Finally, out of breath, we reached the Great Hall, and I cut off my spell. Every head in the Great Hall turned to see the two of us, sopping wet and laughing, followed by Remus, murmuring a drying spell was he went, effectively cleaning up after us.

I sank into my seat and Remus sat next to me, tapping me with his wand. I warmed up and dried off quickly and smiled at him. "Thank you so much, Remus," I said, and he grinned back.

"Okay Moony, my turn," said Sirius from across the table, extending his hand to Remus. Remus looked at it, thinking, and then shook his head.

"What?" squealed Sirius, shaking his head like a dog and soaking everyone around him. Alice and Colleen, who had just walked in, winced and stepped back hurriedly, and Peter groaned and looked down at his wet eggs unhappily. Remus tapped me, then my friends, and dried us off, but ignored Sirius. I looked at him.

"Black, why did you do it?"

"Do what?" he answered, looking at me with confusion etched into his face. "Oh, get you wet? Well, that wasn't actually intended for you."

I stared at him, and then nodded. "Potter."

He grinned wolfishly (well, technically, that's how Remus would grin, but you get my point). "Yep. I've been waking him up like that since first year. Almost every morning, unless his owl wakes him up before I get up... then he gets revenge."

I winced. "No wonder he's in such a bad mood in the morning," said, feeling a slight sympathy for the boy. "Well, leave it to me to get him up in the morning, okay, Black?"

Sirius nodded. "Okay, Lilykins," he answered. Just then Potter slid into the place next to me. "Morning, Lily," he said.

"Good morning, Potter," I muttered, annoyed. Potter looked at Sirius and blinked. "Uh, Padfoot? Why're you all wet?"

Sirius glared at his friend. "You're lovely girlfriend decided to give me a morning bath."

Suddenly, he reeled back. "Bloody hell, Lily! What was that for?" he shouted, clasping his head, which I had just hit very hard.

"Let me say this very clearly and slowly for you, dimwit," I snarled back. I. AM. NOT. JAMES. POTTER'S. GIRLFRIEND. Get it now?" I finished my breakfast and got up, hurrying to class. Alice and Colleen got up after me, and I heard James say as I hurried away, "You deserved that, Padfoot."

I sighed and stopped outside the Transfiguration classroom, leaning against the wall. My head ached even more, and I felt alternately cold and then hot. Alice and Colleen hurried up to me. "Lily, what happened?" asked Alice.

I grinned wearily at her. "Don't worry about it. Being splashed with cold water in the morning doesn't exactly put me in a good mood. You guys go eat. Really," I added, when they looked at me unconvinced.

"All right..." Alice said. She and Colleen walked back to the Great Hall, looking back at me continuously.

I sighed, and then screamed. Through the windows in the corridor soared black figures, cloaked in tattered robes, each with an aura that froze me to the bone. _On the second day of school?_I thought angrily, and, as the despair the dementors spread leeched into my bones, I waved my wand, summoning a memory of swinging with my sister, Petunia. A happy memory. "_Expecto Patronum!_" I shouted, and a thin spurt of silver ejected from my wand.

The dementor nearest me drew back slightly, then charged forward again. I swore. I knew that it wouldn't harm me, but this _was _for a grade, and I had a reputation to protect.

It was getting harder to stand. These were _very _good fakes. I staggered slightly, suddenly hearing feet running towards me. A strong arm wrapped around me and held me up. "Come on!" I heard Potter shout. "We've got to get her out of here... we can't cast Patronuses!"

Suddenly the dementors disappeared, there one moment, then gone. I collapsed out of

the arms holding me, and felt big hands rubbing my arms, trying to warm me up. I looked up and saw Sirius, who was frowning worriedly at me. I dropped my head and closed my eyes.

"I failed this," I whispered.

"Actually, you didn't fail, Ms. Evans," came a creaky voice, and I looked up to see Dumbledore. My confusion must have shown on my face, because he said kindly, "You were a bit of an experiment, Ms. Evans. The other teachers and I wished to see how lifelike our fakes were."

"Very lifelike," I said, hoarsely. Sirius wrapped an arm around my waist again and helped me to my feet.

"We're taking her to the hospital wing," said Remus firmly, as if daring one of the teachers arrayed behind Dumbledore to protest. They were McGonagall, Slughorn, and Flitwick, none of whom said anything. I noticed Potter and Peter watching me worriedly, and Alice, Frank, and Colleen standing off to the side, looking upset.

Dumbledore nodded and Sirius helped me walk to the hospital wing, followed by a small procession of my friends. When we reached the hospital wing, I collapsed on one of the beds. Madame Pomfrey gave me something nasty, "for the shock", and then bustled off. I sat propped up against some pillows. Remus, Alice, and Colleen sat on my bed, and Sirius, Frank, and Potter sat on the one next to me.

"I'm sorry!" Alice and Colleen cried in unison as soon as Madame Pomfrey had gone.

"Why?" I asked.

"We couldn't help you," explained Alice, while Frank and Colleen nodded. "We didn't know how to cast a Patronus!"

I laughed. "Well, neither did I. It's okay." I looked at them and the Marauders. "You guys were there to keep me standing. Thanks."

"It's no big deal," said Sirius. Then he turned to Remus. "How _do _you cast a Patronus, anyways?"

"A Patronus is really advanced magic," explained Remus. "You need to concentrate on a happy memory, and only on that memory."

I nodded. "That's my issue, I guess," I sighed. "I didn't have a happy enough memory in my repertoire."

After a few minutes I was feeling able to stand, even though my head was pounding and my stomach churning slightly, so my friends and I went to Transfiguration.

After a long day, I collapsed onto the couch in the Head Tower. I had a ton of homework, but I didn't feel like doing any of it. I was feeling sicker than ever, but I still wanted to find a happy memory that I could use to cast a Patronus.

I sat there and thought, and after each memory I thought might work, I tried to cast a Patronus. None of them worked; going to Diagon Alley, a day when Severus and I had sat by the Black Lake the week before school let out, eating candy and talking, my first time on a broom at Alice's house... nothing worked.

And, before I knew it, I fell asleep, exhausted after my day and the repetitive spell casting.

**James**

When I walked into the Head Tower sometime after dinner, I was feeling worried about Lily. She hadn't come down to eat, and I had wanted to search for her. However, I remembered what Colleen said about being her friend, and I wouldn't have freaked out looking for Sirius or Remus, so I sat tight.

Suddenly, I stopped short. There she was, pale and sick-looking, curled up on a couch. I blinked and then walked over to her, standing next to her, looking down. I gently leaned down and pressed my hand to her forehead, which felt very hot. Lily's eyes flew open, looking up at me blearily, then sharpening. She shoved my hand from her forehead and sat up, then stood. "What were you doing?" she spat.

I held up my hands, backing away. "You look sick," I explained. "I was seeing if you had a fever."

Lily glared at me. "I don't believe you," she hissed, and she pulled out her wand to hex me. Before she could try anything, though, she staggered.

I rushed over and caught her before she fell. "Believe me now?" I asked, frightened by the fact that her small body was buring up.

She groaned. "James... I don't feel so good."

I normally would have rejoiced at her calling me James, but I was too worried. It just proved how ill she was. I hesitated, then picked her up, putting one arm under her knees, the other at her back. Lily nestled her hot head against my shoulder, her wand held loosely in her hand, and I kicked open the portrait hole.

I carried her gently down the stairs and to the hospital wing, where Madame Pomfrey gasped and hurriedly directed me to a bed. I put Lily down and sat in a chair next to her.

"Ms. Evans, what on earth happened to you?" asked Madame Pomfrey as she bustled around, getting potions down and mixing some foul smelling liquids in a glass.

Lily didn't answer. Her eyes were closed, so I tried to answer. "Well, she was already tired out and not feeling well from the fake dementors this morning," I said. "But I don't know what made her so sick all of a sudden."

"I've been feeling sick all day," Lily murmured from the bed. "And I was practicing my Patronus... I guess I got tired out." I watched as she opened her eyes to accept a potion from Madame Pomfrey. She drank it with a grimace and then slipped down, curling up on her side.

I bit my lip worriedly. Lily looked so tiny and vulnerable. I didn't want to leave her, but I knew what I had to do. _It'll be better for you in the long run,_ I reasoned with myself. "Hey, Lily," I whispered, and she turned and looked at me.

"Potter... thanks."

"Uh..." I was at a loss for words. How does one react to thanks from someone who was just going to kill you? "You're welcome."

Lily's eyes fluttered and I said softly, "Do you want me to go?"

She nodded. "I want to sleep. But... come back tomorrow, with the others, please?"

"Of course," I said. Lily closed her eyes, turned her back to me again, and went to sleep. I stood, looked down at her for a moment, and then left the hospital wing.

The next morning, Colleen, Alice, Frank, the Marauders, and I all trooped down to the hospital wing, bearing flowers, or, in Alice's case, a case of Chocolate Frogs. "Where'd you get those?" I asked.

"They were part of Lily's birthday present," she explained. "But I thought I'd give them to her now."

Lily was sitting up when we walked in, looking much better. She smiled when we came in. "Hey, guys!"

We sat on her bed and on the beds next to her, presenting her our gifts. Since it was Saturday, we had no classes, so we sat and talked for a long time. I noticed Lily shooting me some surprised glances as I kept the conversation flowing away from me, Quidditch, and my relationship (or lack thereof) with her, something that apparently everyone found surprising, judging from their facial expressions.

When Madame Pomfrey bustled over and ordered us out, I didn't linger, but waved with the rest and walked out... only to brush by Severus Snape marching in. He glared at me, and I glared back, but I didn't hex him. I glanced back to see Severus and Lily both giving me shocked looks. I smiled to myself. This being her friend thing might actually work.

**Lily**

I stared after Potter in shock. He had just walked by Severus Snape without hexing him, had not talked once about himself, Quidditch, or our complete lack of a relationship, had not complimented me, and had not asked me out. It was like he was an entirely different person.

Plus, there was last night. I had been quite rude to him, and all he was doing was looking out for me. _I'll have to thanks him for bringing me down here._

And there was the mysterious fact that every time I thought of being carried to the hospital wing in his arms I blushed...

Sev came and sat next to me, looking uneasy. I noticed his discomfort but still smiled at him. Even though we really didn't talk much these days, I always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Hey, Sev," I said.

"Hello, Lily," he answered, and he smiled a little, his eyes searching my face worriedly. "Are you all right? What happened?"

I sighed. "Nothing. I just got sick. It happens."

"So... it wasn't Potter, then? Because I thought it might have been..."

I laughed. "Not everything is Potter's fault, you know."

"Whatever," Sev growled.

Suddenly, Mulciber came staggering into the hospital wing, covered in giant boils. I smirked slightly until Sev stood, quickly backing away from me. I frowned and bit my lip. So that's how it was. Sev didn't want to be seen with me, the mudblood.

"-stupid, blood-traitor Potter and his blood-traitor crony Black and that Lupin... I'm going to kill them! It's my business who I call mudblood-" He noticed me and glared. He leaned over towards me and whispered, "Or maybe I'll kill you... Potter's little mudblood girl... after all, it's your fault I have these boils."

I glared and pulled out my wand, but smirked inwardly. So the Marauders had been at work protecting me from insults... how nice of them. "Don't make me hex you, Mulciber," I warned.

Before he could answer, Madame Pomfrey had hurried over and had separated us, pulling Mulciber over to a bed on the other side of the room, handing him a potion to drink that would make the boils disappear. I sighed and sank down onto my pillows. Sev slowly came over when Mulciber dozed off a few moments later, due to the potion.

But I shook my head. "It's okay, Sev," I said, trying to hide how hurt I was. "You don't have to stay."

He bounced on the balls of his feet, but didn't leave. "Are you sure, Lily?"

"Yeah," I said. "Go ahead. It's fine."

Sev smiled. "'Bye, then, Lily," he said, and then quickly hurrying away, looking ridiculously like a bat in his long black cloak.

And, then, tears slowly trickling out of the corners of my eyes, I whispered, ""Bye, _Snivellus._"

**A/N: **There it is! Snape betrays Lily for his Death Eater friends... shame, eh? Anyways, please tell me what you think, even if it's only one word... if the reviews stop, I stop... not that that's much of a threat, but still!!

(P.S. I am planning to change the title of this story to "And Then Came the Rain", but I'm a relatively new user of this site, and I'm not sure if this will mess up alerts people have placed, or anything like that... can one of you lovely readers answer this question? Please PM me or put it in your review! Thanks!)

(P.P.S. If you like me, my writing, and Ron/Hermione pairings, check out "Speak!" by me.)

))Riiko Shea((


	7. Defense, Patronuses, and Memories

**A/N: **Hello everyone! As you can see, I've changed the title of this story to "And Then Came the Rain"... If this caused problems for anyone, I'm very sorry! Thanks for all the reviews... keep 'em coming! Also, school has started for me, so this is my last chapter update for possibly a loooong time.

So without further ado here is Chapter Seven of "And Then Came the Rain", formerly "My Thunder".

**Disclaimer: **It isn't mine. You know it, I know it.

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**And Then Came the Rain (Formerly My Thunder)  
**

**Chapter Seven**

**Defense, Patronuses, and Memories **

**Lily**

I got out of the hospital wing the next day, feeling much better. I ran to where Alice and Colleen were waiting for me by the door and they hugged me. "We're glad you're back," said Colleen as they walked with me to Transfiguration. "We actually had to listen during class."

I laughed. "Oh well," I said. "Now, at least you'll appreciate me more."

They grinned together as we entered the corridor, and Frank, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Potter came to greet us.

"How are you feeling?" asked Remus, after gently hugging me.

"Fine," I answered. "Thanks for coming to visit yesterday."

"No problem," smiled Sirius. Peter grinned shyly and Potter winked at me, but other wise, he didn't say anything.

I hadn't missed much in any of my classes, so they were all a piece of cake. My favorite was Defense Against the Dark Arts. I had a feeling that this would remain my favorite class for the rest of the year.

Today, Dumbledore was smiling and standing next to Professor McGonagall. "Today," the silver-bearded old man explained, "Professor McGonagall is here to teach you how to perform a Stunning spell."

McGonagall smiled and then turned her severe eyes to us. "I have, in fact," she said, "used this spell on a Dark wizard, and it is quite effective. Now, the incantation is _Stupefy. _Repeat."

"_Stupefy_," we chorused.

"Well done. The wand movement is as follows." McGonagall waved her wand, and then we copied her motions, using our quills. This was a spell slightly familiar to me, but I had never actually preformed it.

"No, observe... Professor, if I may...?"

"Of course, Minerva," answered Dumbledore, and he stepped up to her. McGonagall faced him, waved her wand and shouted, "_Stupefy_!" Dumbledore went flying backward and hit a mattress that I hadn't noticed was placed against the wall. He stood and smiled.

"Thank you, Minerva. Now," he turned to face us. "Please pair up while I sort out protection."

He and McGonagall waved their wands, and out of a closet came several large mattresses that they used to line the walls. We paired up, me with Remus again, Potter and Sirius, Mary and Colleen, and Alice and Frank. I went first. "_Stupefy_!" Remus went flying backwards, hitting the mattress in a puff of dust.

He stood and returned back to his original position. "_Stupefy_!" he shouted, and I flew backwards with a small shriek, before slamming into the mattress on the wall.

I struggled to my feet and brushed myself off. "Nice," I said to the werewolf in front of me. He grinned, before I flicked my wand and sent him flying backwards again.

A few minutes before class ended, Dumbledore clapped his hands and ordered us to return to our desks. McGonagall waved her wand, stacking the mattresses and returning them to the closet.

"Very nice, students," complimented Dumbledore, smiling at all of us as we sat down. "Now, I would like to briefly discuss our long-term goal, to produce a Patronus, again. Yesterday I explained that, for next week, I would like each of you to have picked out several memories you are going to try to cast your Patronus with. Has anyone picked their memory?"

People looked at each other uneasily. Dumbledore smiled. "It is quite all right if you haven't. If you have, feel free to come up, but if not, I shall dismiss the class." No one came up, so Dumbledore clapped his hands and said, "Class dismissed, then!"

Everyone stood, shoving parchment and quills into their bags. I stood and followed Colleen, Alice, Frank, and the Marauders minus Peter, out the door.

Since it was raining pretty hard, there was no Quidditch practice, so I went with my friends to Gryffindor Common Room. We met Peter there and started our homework.

Potter, Remus, Colleen, and I sat at one table. I sighed and pulled out a piece of parchment, measuring out a foot so I could start an essay for Flitwick on household charms.

"What are you working on?" Remus asked. I showed him my essay and he nodded. "I have to start that."

"The Charms essay?" asked Potter, leaning over the table. "Gah, I'm not looking forward to that."

"Why?" I asked, curious despite myself.

"Charms is my least favorite class," he explained. I was a little surprised. It had never occurred to me that Potter might have a least favorite class. I had assumed that he, in his arrogance, thought he was awesome at everything.

"So what's your favorite class?" asked Colleen.

"Transfiguration, or maybe Defense," he answered, bending over his Potions textbook, searching for twenty uses for beetle eyes. "You?"

"Defense," my friend answered.

Remus nodded, using his quill to practice the motion for the Stunning spell we had learned that day. "Yeah, I agree. Defense is my favorite."

"I think it's mine, too," I said. "But this Patronus thing is going to be an issue."

"Why?" asked Sirius from the table next to us. "I mean, you're Lily."

I sighed. "That doesn't mean I don't have issues with spells. And I'm really having issues with this one."

Remus smiled encouragingly at me. "Don't feel bad. I'm having trouble with it too."

I glared at him. "Don't lie, Remus Lupin. I can see that list of memories in front of you... 'First time seeing Hogwarts'... 'Riding a broom'... Oh, what's the one that's circled say?"

Remus blushed and shoved said list under his book. "Be quiet, Lily."

Sirius whistled and Frank gasped from next to him, "You can do a Patronus, Remus?"

"Well, go on, Moony," said Potter. "Can we see?"

Remus sighed and stood up. "Don't expect much, I really can't do it very well," he muttered, beet red. He lifted his wand, closed his eyes, and shouted, "_Expecto Patronum!_"

Out of his wand blossomed a large silver cloud that extended in front of him like a shield. He screwed his eyes shut even more, and suddenly I could see an animal sort of behind the cloud of silver, like it was trapped behind a mirror and trying to get out, but I couldn't tell what animal it was.

After a moment he collapsed into his chair, the silver disappearing. Everyone in the common room cheered and we clapped and patted him on the back.

"That was amazing!" I cried, and Potter echoed the sentiment. "What mem-"

But he cut me off with a slight warning look. "I'll tell you guys later, okay?" he said, and Potter and I nodded and bent back to our homework as Remus went to be congratulated by Alice, Frank, Peter, and Sirius at the next table.

Finally, the Marauders and I were the only ones left up. I wanted to hear Remus's memory, and I wasn't looking forward to going through the drafty hallways to the Head Tower.

He looked up as soon as Colleen, yawning and stretching, had gone up to bed. He scanned me, Peter, Sirius, and Potter. "You guys want to know what memory I used, right?"

"Yeah!" answered Sirius. "I'm dying to know."

Remus sighed and put his head in his hands. I could see he was blushing. "Well... it's... uh... it's the memory of when I first found out that Sirius, James, and Peter had become animagi, so that they could stay with me during the full moon. That was the happiest moment of my life, I think. Because, not only had someone finally accepted me, they had... cared for me. Gone above and beyond because... they _liked _me. They weren't afraid of me. They didn't hate what I am."

I smiled, blinking rapidly so I wouldn't cry. One who is a werewolf is, in most cases, cursed to be lonely and hated for their whole life. So for Remus, friends like Sirius, Peter... even James Potter... were a blessing from heaven. I glanced at the other three Marauders, and I smiled even more to notice moist eyes on all three.

Suddenly they threw themselves on him, saying, "Thanks, Moony! We do like you! You're awesome, mate!" and instead of rolling my eyes at their immaturity, I laughed, because I knew that feeling such strong emotions wasn't normal for the Marauders, and they had really needed to break the tension.

Finally, after a few more minutes, Potter and I left, not wanting to be out after curfew. We were quiet, and I had a feeling that any moment now, he was going to ask me out. When he opened his mouth, I closed my eyes...

Only to open them in surprise when he asked, "So what memories have you been thinking about using?"

I blinked, but answered, "I have no idea... everything I've tried hasn't worked."

Potter glanced at me, an eyebrow raised. "Really? I thought you were just being modest back there."

I shook my head. "Nope. I can't do it."

He stopped and leaned against the wall. "Try it, now." I glared at him. "Come on," he coaxed. "Just try it."

I sighed, and searched my mind for a memory I hadn't used yet. I found one, one when Alice, Colleen, the Marauders, and Frank had surprised me with a birthday cake on my birthday, when I thought they had all forgotten about it.

I closed my eyes and pointed my wand, calling, "_Expecto Patronum_!"

But out of my wand only came a slight sheen of silver, thinner than a spider's web. I sighed and dropped my arm. Potter frowned slightly. "What memory did you use?"

I told him, and he smiled, reminiscing. "I remember that... then I asked you out, and you threw a chair at me, I think..."

I laughed. "Yeah, that was it." We started walking again, and I suddenly realized what was going on. I was walking next to my sworn enemy, laughing and reminiscing with him! I had even listened and obeyed him when he told me to cast my Patronus! This was SO ODD.

Before I knew it, we were near the Head Tower. As we climbed through the portrait hole, I asked him, "So what is your diagnosis for my Patronus issues, Professor Potter?"

He grinned, but answered, "I don't know. You should talk to Dumbledore... I'm guessing you don't have any memories as powerful as Remus's?"

"If, I do, I don't know that they're that powerful," I sighed.

Potter patted me on the shoulder and walked up to his bedroom. "You'll get it!" he called over his shoulder. "'Night, Lily!"

"'Night!" I called back, before sinking into an armchair. This had been one strange night.

**James**

September blurred into October. Lily and I continued walking to and from places, hanging out, alone and with her friends or my friends, and I was surprised to find how easy it was to talk to her. Being her friend was easier than I thought, and a lot less painful... I hardly ever got hexed.

We also took care of our duties as Head Boy and Girl, such as patrolling together. That was usually pretty boring, but I enjoyed just being with her, relishing the friendly silence.

In mid-October, the air got very chilly, and classes started getting trickier, now that the basic review stuff was done. In Potions, we were brewing more and more difficult potions, some so tough I had to ask Lily and Remus to help me prepare before the lesson. In Transfiguration we were turning desks into pigs, just as we had seen McGonagall do on our first day as first years. In Charms the household charms had graduated to tricky combination stuff, like putting away dishes, folding clothes, and washing the windows at the same time. Defense stayed about the same level, because it had been a moderately difficult class to start with.

Today, I was sitting in Defense, tapping my foot. It was Friday, and we were done with that day's lesson. (Sprout had been the teacher of the day; she had taught us a spell that caused huge, thorny plants to grow out of the ground and entwine the enemy... Dumbledore had to teach us how to repair the stone floor of the dungeon classroom when we were done, of course.)

Dumbledore stood at the front of the room again. "Now, I know you all would like to leave," he called to us, "but I would like to see how you are progressing with your Patronuses."

Dumbledore asked us this question after every class. We had picked memories a few weeks ago, but only Remus and a Ravenclaw I didn't know had gotten even close to a full Patronus. Most people still hadn't even found a memory that worked for them.

Remus raised his hand. "Mr. Lupin, would you like to try?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, Professor," said Remus, blushing. He stepped to the front of the room at Dumbledore's beckoning and faced us. He pointed his wand in the air and shouted, "_Expecto Patronum!_"

I whooped along with Sirius, who, a moment before, had been slouching next to me. A wolf trotted to us, nuzzling our hands with its silver muzzle. It winked at me and I laughed. Behind me I could heat Lily cheering and clapping.

After a few more seconds, Remus dropped his arm, sinking into the chair Dumbledore Transfigured behind him. Sirius and I trooped up to him, patting his back while everyone else clapped enthusiastically.

"Wonderful, Mr. Lupin, simply wonderful! And in a month and a half, too... it won't be long until you can hold onto it for long periods of time," Dumbledore beamed, patting Remus on the shoulder.

With that, the class was over. Remus rummaged in a pocket of his sweater and stuffed a piece of chocolate into his mouth. After a moment, he stood up, smiling at me and Sirius. We stood too and followed him out of the classroom into the hall.

"Wow, Moony!" I shouted once we were in the hall. "That was freakin' incredible, mate!"

"Totally!" Sirius nodded in agreement.

Remus smiled. "Thanks, I've been working on it every day, and finally got my animal."

"Not a surprise there, eh?" asked Sirius.

Remus shook his head. "Not really. It kind of dampens the excitement around yours, though."

I shrugged. "I don't care." I looked at Sirius. "Let's go, we've got practice now."

I pushed the team pretty hard, because our first match against the Hufflepuffs was coming up in a week or so. After we were done, I went up to my room and showered, letting the warm water wash away the mud from practice.

When I came down, Lily was standing at the window, watching something. "Hey," I said. She jumped.

"Oh, hey," she answered. "Come look at this."

I walked to the window and gasped. On the ground were what looked like seven students, fighting nine or ten masked Death Eaters. "The first attack," I whispered.

Lily nodded. "They're fifth years. They're doing really well," she said, as one student sent a Death Eater flying. It disappeared when it hit the ground.

I looked around and noticed a few figures on the Astronomy Tower. Nudging Lily, I pointed them out, their wands sparkling against the grey, stormy clouds in the sky. She turned and saw them, nodding.

The battle was over in about fifteen more minutes, and the teachers came down to meet the kids, who, after a few minutes, trotted back to their dorms, patting each other on the back.

"I guess the plan is working the way Dumbledore wanted it to, eh?" I said, sinking onto the couch. Lily nodded a third time.

"Yeah. I wonder when our first attack will be..." She trailed off, staring into space. I waved a hand in front of her.

"Uh, Earth to Lily Evans? Come in, Evans."

Lily jumped. "Oh, sorry!" she gasped, and for some reason her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "I totally zoned out."

I laughed. "I noticed." Standing, I held out a hand to her. "I'm going to dinner. You coming?"

Lily looked at my hand, and then grabbed it, allowing me to pull her to a standing position. When she was up, she released me and smiled. "Sure. Let's go"

I followed her downstairs, thinking about her smile. Wasn't I lucky that Lily was my friend? That was all I needed.

But a small voice inside my head murmured, _If you're her friend, though, couldn't you be something more?_

Could I?

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**A/N: **There you go... again, sorry if by changing the title I messed anyone up, and please, please review!! My 20th reviewer gets a cyber-cookie!

(P.S. If you like Ron/Hermione, check out my oneshot, "Speak!")

))Riiko Shea((


	8. Encouragement, a Secret, and Comforting

**A/N: **Hello everyone! I'm so thankful for all of your reviews... let's keep them coming, and maybe, just maybe, get more people to review? (Please?) Anyways, this chapter was a bear to write, but since this is one of my last free days for weeks, I decided to try and get one last chapter out there for you guys. So...

Here is Chapter Eight of "And Then Came the Rain"!

**Disclaimer: **It's not mine. Too tired to write a creative disclaimer.

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**And Then Came the Rain**

**Chapter Eight**

**Encouragement, a Secret, and Comforting**

**James**

The next weekend marked the start of the Quidditch season, with the first game, Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor. As my team changed into their robes in the locker room, I surveyed them nervously. Alice and Mary, the two girls, were changing with their backs to the rest of us guys. Frank was laughing at something Bryan McMahon had just said, and Jacob Thomas was sitting on a bench looking like he was going to be sick. Sirius was strapping on shin pads next to him, apparently trying to calm him down. I walked over.

"Hey, Jacob," I said, sitting next to him on his left. Sirius stood and nodded at me before sauntering over to where Mary and Alice had just finished changing, to flirt with Mary. She rolled her eyes and he laughed. I sighed and turned my attention to the boy next to me.

"Nervous?"

Jacob swallowed. "A- a bit."

I chuckled. "It's fine. I still get nervous every time I enter that pitch. You just have to overcome that nervousness, pretend like it's just you, your opponent, and the Quaffle... or Snitch, in your case."

"I can try," said Jacob, sounding dubious. I clapped him on the shoulder.

"You'll do great. You're the best Seeker this school has seen in years. You'll knock them off their brooms!" I promised, and I was relieved to see a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "That's the spirit." I turned and stuck my fingers in my mouth, giving a piercing whistle.

"Oi!" shouted Sirius, rubbing his ears. I grinned at him.

"All right, men and women. It's time. Let's show those Hufflepuffs what Gryffindors are made of!"

My team cheered and we shouldered out brooms, but before I could turn to leave I noticed Alice looking at me strangely. "Um, Alice? Can I help you?" I asked. She blinked and shook her head.

"Sorry, I was just thinking... never mind." She straightened her gloves and smiled at me. "Let's move, team!" she shouted, and I laughed.

"Hey, that's my line!"

We strode out onto the Quidditch pitch, me and Jacob in the front, followed by Mary and Sirius, and last came Bryan, Frank, and Alice. They fanned out behind me as I crossed to the center of the pitch, where Madame Hooch stood, waiting to release the balls.

I shook hands with the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, Roger Flynn, and then drew back, mounting my broom. "I want a nice, clean game," called Madame Hooch. "Now... three, two, one..." And she released the Bludgers, throwing the Quaffle in the air.

I grabbed it and soared away as Sirius swung his bat, hard, colliding with a Bludger and sending it flying towards Flynn. I dodged a girl named Emma Sands, only to be slammed in the wrist by a Bludger sent by Hufflepuff Graham Anderson. I swore and dropped the Quaffle.

A boy a didn't know caught it and rocketed towards our goal posts, only to have his score blocked by Frank, who caught the ball and hurled it to me. I snatched it out of the air and zipped towards the other end of the pitch, passing the Quaffle to Bryan half way there. He scored and I cheered. 10-0, Gryffindor.

The game dragged on and on, a half hour, an hour, and hour and a half. I was getting tired, as was everyone else. We were tied, 90-90. As Frank blocked another shot and passed the ball to Alice, I sighed and glanced up at Jacob and the Hufflepuff Seeker, a girl named Anna Spencer, were circling.

Suddenly, Jacob swerved and shot downwards. Anna wheeled and rocketed after him. Everyone else stopped what they were doing, watching, eyes wide, as they sped downwards. If I squinted I could see the tiny golden sphere zipping just ahead of their reaching fingers.

And then Jacob was raising his hand triumphantly, laughing as the Snitch waved its wings tiredly at the crowd. I cheered and landed next to him, Sirius and I lifting his slight body on our shoulders. "Yes, Jacob!" I shouted. "Yes!"

We paraded to the Gryffindor Common Room, where Sirius had already smuggled food and firewhiskey from the kitchens. I was congratulated again and again, but I finally got away, sinking down onto a couch. I drank from my bottle and studied Lily. She was talking seriously with Alice, who was gesturing wildly. Suddenly Lily turned to glance at me and I looked away, to find Jacob coming to sit next to me.

"What's up?" I asked. He smiled.

"I just wanted to thank you, Captain." I blinked. He blushed. "Well, for believing in me."

I laughed softly, trying not to show how happy (and awkward) his comment made me feel. I patted his shoulder. "It's okay, mate. You caught that Snitch by yourself. Today was all you."

Jacob grinned up at me and said, "All right, Captain. Whatever you say." He stood and waved, wandering over to a group of guys who patted him on the back. I stared after him. A moment later, I felt kind of shivery, and felt goose bumps racing down my arms. I blinked, and turned to face Lily.

I met her eyes. She had been staring at me! She quickly looked away and muttered something to Alice and Colleen, who were both sitting next to her. I shook my head and looked around for my friends.

As if they had read my mind, Sirius, Remus, and Peter walked over and threw themselves down next to me. "Nice job today, Padfoot," I smiled at Sirius.

"Thanks... Of course, all the credit goes to Moony for doing my homework so that I could do some extra practicing." Sirius turned to Remus, who smiled tiredly. I looked worriedly at him and, despite his feeble attempts to make me stop, ("You're acting like my mother, Prongs!") I felt his forehead. Slight fever.

"How many days left?" murmured Sirius, looking concerned.

Remus sighed. "Five... You're coming with me?"

I chuckled. "You ask every time, but the answer won't change. Yes, we're coming with you."

Remus laughed softly, and after a little while longer he went up to bed. Peter followed soon after, and at one or so, Sirius waved good night to me and slipped upstairs.

I reclined on a couch, dreading the dark walk through drafty corridors, alone in the Invisibility Cloak. I could, of course, sleep on the floor of my old dorm, but I didn't really want to go in and wake up Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

Suddenly, I heard someone murmur, "Oh crap... now I'm going to have to sneak back to the dorm." Lily.

I sat up. "Hey, Lily." She jumped and whirled around, pointing her wand at me, only to drop it when I put my hands up.

"My God, James, you scared the hell out of me," she gasped, tucking her wand in her pocket and grabbing her heart. I laughed and stood, shouldering my rucksack and tucking my wand in my pocket.

"James, is it?" I teased. "Maybe I should scare you more often." Lily glared at me, and then stared laughing. I laughed too, hiding my shock that she was laughing instead of hexing me.

"Okay, now how are we going to get from here to the dorm without Filch catching us?" she asked finally. I looked at her, and made my decision.

"Can you keep a secret?"

**Lily**

Potter regarded me with deadly serious eyes. "Can you keep a secret?" I hesitated for only a moment before nodding. He smiled and reached into his bag, pulling out something silvery. I gasped.

"No. Freaking. Way!" I gasped. "An Invisibility Cloak?" I reached out my hand to touch it, but pulled back at the last moment. Potter laughed and held it out.

"It's okay, you can touch it. But you can't tell anyone." I glanced up, and noticed he looked worried. "Only Sirius, Remus, and Peter know about this... it's how I get us out of the castle for full moons."

"Among other things," I smirked. Potter looked down guiltily and I laughed. "Don't worry. I won't tell."

He grinned. "Right. Now," and in a few moments we were covered.

I was pressed up against his muscular chest, which made my heart beat very fast, for some reason. I could hear him breathing and feel the warmth of his skin as we entered the corridor and headed towards our dorm.

I yawned as we trudged up a set of stairs. Potter grinned as I stumbled and he wrapped his arm securely around my waist. I glared blearily at him, but allowed him to support my weight.

When we got to the top of the stairs, he scooped me up in his arms, still under the Cloak, and started to carry me. "James Potter!" I whisper-shouted. "Let go of me now!"

He chuckled softly. "Lily, don't play tough. You and I both know that if I put you down now, you'd stagger into a wall or something."

I sighed. "You're right, I guess." I gently rested my head against his shoulder, and dozed off.

**James**

"You're right, I guess," Lily sighed. She rested her head tentatively against my shoulder, and after a moment was asleep. Her head slipped into the space between my neck and my shoulder, and goose bumps raced across my skin.

A few minutes later, I whispered the password to the portrait and stepped into the Head Common Room. I gently carried Lily up the stairs and nudged open her door. I lay her on her bed and she stirred, sighing quietly. I smiled down at her where she lay, her hair fanned around her head, one arm curled under her head, the other draped across her waist. Her face was flushed slightly from the firewhiskey she'd consumed that night, and from the warmth of the room.

I eased her shoes off and then sat down at her desk chair for a moment, petting her cat, Andromeda. I just wanted to look at her, at her beauty, and her innocence, as she slept. So I did.

After a while, I got up and got ready to leave her room. Suddenly, Lily moaned, tossing violently. I froze, wondering whether I should go to her.

"No... Mom, don't go..." I made my decision and knelt beside her bed.

"Lily... Lily, wake up."

Lily shifted, tears running down her cheeks. She groaned softly. I bit my lip, and then gently shook her. "Lily, please wake up..."

She started, jumping, her eyes fling open. They glimmered in the light of the almost full moon. She focused on me, and then murmured, "James... what... oh... you carried me here?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I whispered. "Uh... it sounded like you were having a pretty awful dream. Are you okay?"

Lily sighed, and shook her head. "No. I'm not. I'm... confused? I guess that's it..."

"Anything I can help with?" I asked.

"No," she answered, smiling slightly. "Not now... can I go to sleep, please?"

I sighed and nodded, standing up. But before I turned to leave, I bent and gave her a tight hug. "Good-night, Lily."

As I left the room, I heard her murmur, "Good-night, James... and thanks."

**Lily**

The next morning, I woke up tangled in my sheets, still in my school clothes. The events of the night before came rushing back to me: Winning the Quidditch match, James carrying me upstairs, James comforting me when I had a nightmare...

"Wait... James?" I said out loud to myself. "Since when is he James?"

A sudden banging on the door made me nearly leap out of my skin. "Who is it?" I asked, getting out of bed.

"Colleen and Alice."

"Come in!"

Alice and Colleen opened my door, stopping short when they saw me. "Lily... what happened?" asked Alice.

As I changed into jeans and a tee shirt, since it was a Sunday, I told them of the night before. They stared at me, wide eyed.

Finally, Colleen said, "Well, Lily, that definitely proves it. You have a crush on James Potter."

I shook my head. "No, I don't. I don't even call him James anywhere except my head."

Alice sighed. "Lily, you're the kind of person who tries not to fall for something, but just succeeds in falling even harder. Face it. You like James Potter."

"I don't," I said firmly. "Okay? I don't hate him, but I don't like him either. He's not my crush."

Colleen and Alice groaned in unison. "Fine, Lily," said Alice. "What about what I said about him and Jacob Thomas?"

I shook my head. "I just... can't see him being so nice and saying something so kind."

"Lie!" cried Colleen. "What was last night? He was being totally nice last night to you!"

It was my turn to groan. "I know! I know. I guess... maybe... he has his moments." I turned away and walked to my mirror, brushing my hair out.

"Okay, Lily. We'll let the subject rest for today." Colleen came and stood behind me. "But you can't run away from your feelings forever, you know."

"Whatever," I huffed. "I'm not running from anything."

Right?

* * *

**A/N: **Well, there you go... sorry if there are any typos, I'm very tired right now. (sigh).

Click that little purple button!

(P.S. If you like Ron/Hermione, then check out my oneshot "Speak!")

))Riiko Shea((


	9. A Confession, a Fight, and a Long Night

**A/N: **Wow, I haven't had a free minute in days. I've been so busy, but I didn't want you lovely readers to think I'd forgotten about you. So here is another chapter! Please, PLEASE, read and review!

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**And Then Came the Rain**

**Chapter Nine**

**A Confession, a Fight, and a Long Night**

**Lily**

The next night, James (Potter? James?) and I had patrols. So far, we had avoided talking about my nightmare, but knowing James and his natural curiosity, he would be dying to know what had happened.

I just wasn't sure if I was ready to tell him.

An hour into the patrol we had busted four couples from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, each snogging in respective broom closets, a Slytherin couple... eh hem... doing it in the Astronomy Tower, and three Gryffindors setting up trip wires in a corridor.

"I liked their style," James said, chuckling, as we sent them to bed, ten points docked. "They just shouldn't have got caught."

I smirked. "Well, you and your friends have an unfair advantage over the normal prankster."

James nodded sagely. "True, true."

I continued to stroll down the corridor, wrapping my robes tighter around myself in the chill of the stone hall. James stepped closer to me and draped a casual arm around my shoulder. I stiffened for a moment, but then relaxed - He was very warm.

As we walked through another corridor, I could tell he was about to ask. Oh brother. What was I going to say?

"Lily..." He sounded hesitant.

"What, James?" I answered, hoping my use of his first name would sidetrack him.

It did. "Whaa? James? Since when am I James?"

"Well... I don't know. Change is good, right?"

"Hell, yes! Especially that kind!" I glanced up at him and grinned. His eyes were shining slightly maniacally through his glasses, his smile fit to crack his face in half. It made me feel strange to see him so happy...

Suddenly his face became serious. "But stop trying to change the subject," he said, stopping and turning me to face him, putting both of his hands full on my shoulders. "What happened last night?"

I groaned, hanging my head. "James," I whispered softly, "do I have to say it?"

I felt his hands gently tighten and loosen on my shoulders a few times, and then he sighed and let go. "No," he sighed. "I guess not. I won't make you." As he turned away, I heard him murmur, "Just thought it might help."

I didn't move, battling with myself. How much was I willing to tell James? For that matter, what on earth had even happened in that dream? I was so confused...

Then I looked up. "James..."

"Yeah?" He turned, and my heart did something when I met his hazel eyes. I blinked as he waited expectantly.

"I... James... okay, there were a couple parts to this dream."

James's face twisted quickly before becoming a polite mask. He came and stood next to me. I took a deep breath.

"In the first part, I was with my mother... she's sick with cancer. It's a Muggle disease, and it's... killing her." James bit his lip and put a hand on my shoulder, gently rubbing it. I took another shaky breath and then continued.

"She was clearly dead, and in her coffin, like she was prepared for a wake or something... and then next to her was my dad, and he was in a coffin too, with a bandage around his head. And then, Sev was next to them, in a coffin, and Alice, and Frank, and Colleen, and... and you..."

I had sunk to the floor. My heart was pounding and tears were threatening to pour out. I could barely feel James's hands rubbing my back, consoling me. "And then," I choked, determined to finish the story, "my mother sat up, and she was shrunken and ill and had needles poking out of her, and she said, 'We don't want you, Lily. We died to get away from you. Leave us be.'"

James murmured, "Oh, Lily... oh, sweet, don't cry." He pulled me into his lap, and I cried into his robes, staining them with salt water.

After a few minutes I'd pulled myself together. I leaned my head back from his chest and looked up at his face. He glanced down and gave me a little smile.

"Better?" James asked.

"A little," I allowed, and his smile got a little bigger.

"Do you want to talk about it anymore?"

"... no."

"Okay." He gently pushed me to my feet and then stood up after me. "You go to bed, Lily. I'll finish the patrol."

I sighed. "If the teachers catch me going back to my room without you, they'll get me in trouble."

James thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Right. Can you keep another secret?"

"Sure."

He reached into the rucksack on his back that he never went anywhere without and pulled out a piece of parchment, handing it to me. I blinked at it.

"It's a big secret that you carry around blank sheets of parchment?"

"Haha, very funny Lily." James rolled his eyes and reached over with his wand, tapping the parchment and murmuring something that sounded suspiciously like, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Suddenly, ink began leeching onto the page. It formed into a detailed map of Hogwarts, showing illustrated details of hidden corridors, regular corridors, and all the rooms.

I also realized tiny, labeled dots, crowded into the rooms labeled "Dormitories". Each one had a name, written in what I recognized as Remus's neat script. I gasped and quickly scanned the map my nose close to the parchment, before spying us.

_Lily Evans_ said my mark. _James Potter_ said his. I looked at them for a long moment, and then looked at him. Could Colleen and Alice be right? Was I really falling for him?

"What do you think?" James asked, startling me from my reverie.

I grinned. "Incredible. Absolutely amazing... how long did it take you four to do this?"

"Well, it was mostly Remus, but I helped a lot, and so did Sirius. Peter mostly brought us food." James's smile was infectious. "And it took us about four months, working on it once or twice a week."

I nodded and smiled up at him. "Thanks. This is going to be really helpful-"

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind him. I glanced up and heard a voice hiss, "This is a test for James Christopher Potter."

I frowned. We had had several more attacks in the past couple days, but nothing like this. The attacks were for everyone, not one person singled out. I looked at James. He grinned.

"It's fine; they just don't want me to have the unfair advantage of having you with me."

I bit my lip, not entirely reassured. "Okay, if that's what you think..."

"It is," he assured me. "You go on back. I'll meet you there... I am Head boy, after all. I have a reputation to protect."

I nodded and moved quickly down the corridor, turning the corner and breaking into a quick jog, trying to dislodge the feeling of worry in my gut. And suddenly, I had the perfect idea of how to test and see if this was a normal attack.

I quickly fumbled for the map where I had stuck it in the pocket of my robes. If it was an attack, the mannequins wouldn't show up on the map. If it was something else...

I lit my wand and bent down. There I was, not moving. Quickly I traced my route back to the empty hall we had been standing in...

And almost threw up.

Because James wasn't alone in that corridor.

I took off, running as fast as I could. All I could think of were the dots in the corridor that said _Lucius Malfoy_... _Fenrir Greyback_... _Rodolphus Lestrange_...

I skidded to a halt, and heard James call, "Ready!" How long since I had left? I glanced at my watch and blinked. 90 seconds.

And then I realized that James had just said that he was ready to fight a pack of Death Eaters. And they were most certainly real. I sank to the floor, my knees shaking. What was I going to do?

Then a harsh voice reached my ear, shouting, "_Avada kadavra!_" and James shouted, "Holy- _Protego!_"

I made my decision. I leapt up and raced into the hallway, wand ready, screaming, "_Stupefy!_" A cruel looking man, unmasked, flew backwards, hitting the wall at the end of the corridor with a yell.

James glanced over his shoulder at me, eyes wide. "Lily? What are you-"

"Focus, James!" I screamed. "These aren't an attack, they're real Death Eaters!" I dodged a Cruciatus Curse and shouted, "_Reducto!_"

James stepped up and started fighting as well, a sixteen year old witch and a sixteen year old wizard fighting three much older, more experienced wizards.

And then suddenly, Fenrir was running towards James, his wand outstretched, and I knew that James wouldn't be able to fend the curse off. I launched myself in front of him as Fenrir shouted, "_Crucio!_"

It was agony. I felt like fire was ripping through my veins, making everything hard to see. There was an awful, screeching keen in the background... a moment later, I realized it was me. I fell to the stone floor, writhing, only slightly aware of James shouting, "I surrender! I give in! Just let her go, please!"

Suddenly the pain was gone. I lay, panting, on the stone floor, James stroking my sweaty hair from my face, murmuring, "It's okay, Lily, it'll all be okay."

Just then, Fenrir grabbed him, pulling him to his feet, yanking his wand from his hand and throwing it to the ground. Apparently, they believed I was in too much pain to move much, and at I moment, I agreed with them.

Fenrir held James tightly, leveling his wand at his head. A Death Eater stepped from the shadows, and removed his mask. His hair was blonde, so light it was almost white, and hung slightly past his shoulder. He held a staff, and kept his wand in a sheath at his belt. While these combined on anyone else would look ridiculous, on this man, it was terrifying.

"Lucius Malfoy," spat James.

"Little James Potter," smiled Lucius. "I think you know why we're here."

"Yes." James glared. "You're here to kill me, to get back at my father for busting yours as a supporter of Voldemort."

Lucius stiffened. "You speak his name so... loosely, James. Perhaps it would be wiser to show a bit of respect."

"I don't think so."

Lucius tutted. "Such a pity. Well, that doesn't matter. Rodolphus?"

Out of the darkness, the man I had stunned stepped, rubbing the back of his neck. I glared at him from where I lay on the floor, feeling anger heat me, until Lucius spoke.

"Kill the little girl. It will do me good watch James's face as she dies."

I felt like ice had poured into my veins, even as James shouted, "What? No! You can't kill her!"

"I can, and I will, after which, you will die as well."

Rodolphus grinned. "Revenge, girly," he growled, his voice nearly as rough as Fenrir's. He drew his wand and pointed it at me. "_Av-_"

I reached out and grabbed James's wand with one hand, taking my own with the other. I pointed both arms at Rodolphus and screamed, "_Stupefy!_"

Rodolphus went flying backwards again, and a moment later, I heard a crack and another yell of pain. Good.

I leapt to my feet and whirled on Lucius, shouting, "_Reducto!_" Lucius hissed and ducked, before whirling in a circle a moment later, calling, "Rodolphus! To me, quickly- NO! Dumbledore!"

I stood still for a moment, trying to keep from throwing up after the pain of the curse and standing so quickly, totally forgetting Fenrir behind me as I peered around for Dumbledore.

"Lily! No!"

I whirled around and screamed as Fenrir shot a bright red flash at me, followed rapidly by green. _At least Jams will live_, I thought, noticing, as Fenrir growled in triumph, several teachers approaching.

And then James had leapt in front of me, and both of us were screaming, and I felt him hugging me, and the pain made everything go black, as an old man's voice shouted, "_Finite Incantatum!_"

A moment later, my eyes fluttered open. I was in a white room, on a bed. I could hear whispered voices above the pounding of my heart. I felt sore all over.

Suddenly, all of the events of what seemed like minutes before came rushing back, and I gasped. Red light... _green _light.

"James!" I screamed. Or rather, whispered through my sore throat. I tried to sit and fell back, gasping in pain.

A moment later, Madame Pomfrey bustled over. "Ah, Lily, you're awake."

"How long have I been out?" I rasped, as she poured something foul-smelling into a glass.

"Three hours, give or take," she answered, handing me the glass. I winced and chugged it down, gasping in pain before sighing in relief as the roaring pain dulled to a slight sting.

Suddenly I remembered the green light. "James!" I gasped again. "There was a Killing Curse, and he jumped in front of me..." The image from my nightmare, James, cold and pale, leapt into my mind, and I bit my lip.

"He's fine, dear." Madame Pomfrey patted my hand. "He's right there."

I looked to my right and there, on the next bed, was James, pale, but definitely breathing, his eyes fluttering beneath his lids. "From what we could tell," Madame Pomfrey continued, "your attacker shot a Cruciatus and a Killing Curse, but you two dodged the Killing Curse and only got hit by the Cruciatus."

"We were so, so lucky," I whispered. "And how did they get out of the castle?"

"I don't know," answered Madame Pomfrey, looking troubled. "The Headmaster and a few of the head teachers are trying to figure that out now."

I nodded and looked back at James. He groaned softly. I looked up at Madame Pomfrey. "Has he woken up at all?"

Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "No... he's called for you in his sleep, though."

I nodded again and sank back against my pillows as Madame Pomfrey bustled off to deal with a second year that was covered in green corrosive slime from a badly fought duel.

A minute later James murmured, "Lily... no, don't hurt her. Hurt me. Please, leave her alone..."

I bit my lip, trying not to cry, knowing I was tearing up anyways. I slowly slipped out of my cot and walked the three steps across to his, sitting next to him. Slowly, I reached out and stroked his forehead. "James," I whispered. "James, it's okay. Wake up."

He started and his eyes flew open. He blinked up at me and opened his mouth. "Li-" He grimaced.

I grinned slightly and gave him the glass that Madame Pomfrey had previously placed on his bedside table.

James drank it and winced again, before sighing in relief. "Lily?"

I smiled. "Yeah."

"I thought... that..." James reached out a single shaking hand and gently touched my cheek.

I blinked, and felt a tear roll down my cheek onto his fingers. "James-"

"I'm sorry to disturb you two, but myself and the teachers would like some answers."

I whirled around, James's hand falling from my face to my lap. Professor Dumbledore was standing there, looking worriedly at us. I nodded.

"Of course, Professor. What do you need us to do?"

"I want an account of the events of this past night, please," Dumbledore asked, looking concerned as he sat down on my bed across from us. I helped James sit up (but didn't remove his hand from my lap where he had laced it with my own... humoring him).

We told him what had happened, and Dumbledore merely nodded a few times. After James and I had fallen silent, each of us reliving the horror of the Cruciatus Curse, Dumbledore said, "And I expect that now, you would like an answer."

"Yes," I answered.

"Very well." Dumbledore leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees and making a steeple with his fingers. "I can only guess, but my guess is this. The Malfoys and Lestranges have friends at this school and are therefore able to find out what is going on when. Minerva had, in fact, her office broken into in the past week. Nothing was stolen, but it is clear that an informer was examining the schedule of attacks."

"So there was an attack tonight?" James asked.

"Yes. That, I believe, is how the Death Eaters got into the school tonight. When we cast the spell to animate the mannequins and send them to you, wherever you may be, the Death Eaters tapped into the spell and were sent to where you were instead. When I ended the spell, I also sent them back to wherever they had come from, probably Malfoy Manor."

"But how? I mean, that's totally unconventional magic! I've never read anything like that. How did they do it?" I demanded, exasperated by all of the questions and the lack of answers.

"That, we don't know," answered Dumbledore, his face grave. "However, I shall be tripling the protections of this school before the attacks begin again."

"Good idea," muttered James, and I squeezed his hand.

Dumbledore stood. "You two had best get some rest. It is barely midnight, and you have had a long night."

"Good-night, Professor," we said in unison.

After he left and Madame Pomfrey went into her office, I looked at James, who was gazing at our intertwined hands. He held them up.

"Does this end after tonight? This... closeness?"

I bit my lip. "In all probability," I admitted. "But... I do want to be your friend, James."

He smiled. "I know. Doesn't everyone?"

I gently hit his head and then sighed, releasing his hand and looking over at my unwelcoming bed. I didn't usually mind sleeping alone, but in the dark of this never-ending night, when dreams of dead friends, shouting Death Eaters, and intense pain awaited my closed eyes, I did not long for solitude.

James seemed to read my mind. "You can stay here, if you want," he murmured. "I promise to behave."

I laughed softly. "Okay, I guess." Despite my head screaming at me to not give him the wrong impression and to get the heck out of his bed, I slipped under the covers. His body remained a centimeter away from mine with no contact whatsoever, but I had to concentrate on breathing normally. Why? I didn't... couldn't... like James, could I?

No. I couldn't. I didn't.

"Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me something?"

"Maybe."

James chuckled softly. "Why did you come back?"

"I had a bad feeling when they separated us, and I saw you in the Marauder's Map with the three of them." I stiffened, thinking of the three cruel faces of the Death Eaters.

"Right, but... why did you come back and fight? And... take an Unforgivable for me?"

I blinked. Why had I done that, anyways? "Because that's what friends do?"

James chuckled again, and then yawned. "Whatever, I'm tired. Good-night, Lily."

A moment later, his breathing was deep and even. I murmured, "Good-night, James," and lay there with my confused thoughts, falling into a sleep filled with flashing red and green lights after a few minutes.

**A/N:** This wasn't my favorite chapter... it was really hard to write, for some reason. Anyways, please review... it really does make my day. Even if you don't feel like it, or you don't think it matters to me, it does! So click that little button!


	10. Coming to Terms and Running with Moony

**A/N: **Wow… ten chapters!! I can't believe you guys have let me write TEN CHAPTERS. I didn't think I'd even get five! O.o

Anyways, thanks so much to all my faithful reviewers!! However, I would love some new names… I know that there are more than six or seven people who read this, so PLEASE, even if you hate it, let me know what you think! Can I have five reviews for this chapter? That's how many I got last time... please? (I'll update anyways, though, even if I don't get five.)

And now, on with the show.

**Disclaimer: **We all know it isn't mine.

**And Then Came the Rain**

**Chapter Ten**

**Coming to Terms and Running with Moony**

**Lily**

Someone was shaking me. It was very annoying. "Five more minutes!" I pleaded.

"Not possible, Lily. Sorry."

I jolted straight upwards, knocking into James's head. He shot back, clutching his nose, and I yelped, clutching my head, blushing furiously. "James!" I cried, totally shocked.

He grinned at me. "Forgotten the events of last night so quickly, Lily?" he asked, grinning roguishly.

I shook my head, still holding it. "No. I don't think that last night is something you forget easily."

His face became troubled, but only for a moment, and he was back to his cheery self quickly. "Well, I have uniforms for us, if you're well enough to go to class."

"Yeah, I'm fi-"

"LILY!"

"JAMES!"

We whirled around, me grabbing for my wand, James dropping into a defensive position in front of me, his face fierce, relaxing his pose and grinning when Sirius, Peter, Alice, and Colleen threw themselves on us.

But even as I hugged my friends, I couldn't help but think of his determined face, his quickness to jump in front of me, to protect me.

And I knew that I had to admit it to myself. I couldn't deny it any longer. I closed my eyes.

_I… am in love with James Potter._

I opened my eyes and let out a deep breath I didn't know I had been holding. Alice and Colleen were demanding to know what had happened the night before. I told them, Sirius, and Peter (Remus had been sent home to visit his sick aunt… after all, the full moon was tomorrow), all of whom listened intently.

When I finished, all of their faces were grave, Sirius's most of all. I touched his shoulder as he gazed off into space. "Sirius? What's wrong? Aside from the obvious."

He looked down at me. "Lily… Rodolphus Lestrange is my cousin Bellatrix's husband."

My eyes widened slightly, but I didn't say anything. I knew how much Sirius hated his family, and I knew that to have said family attack his best friend must be painful.

We left for class a few minutes later. All day, until we were hoarse, James and I answered the questions of students fending off frantic letters from their parents, prefects terrified to go on duty, and teachers who had not been totally informed as to what had happened.

By the time we were at our last class, Defense, I was barely able to stand upright. James helped me to the Defense classroom, his arm wrapped around my waist, while Alice carried my bag. I collapsed into a seat next to James in the classroom and put my head on my desk.

When he sat down, I looked up at him and asked as forcefully as I could (which wasn't very), "How are you not exhausted?"

He smiled fondly at me, and my heart flipped in my chest. "I didn't take an Unforgivable twice, Lily."

I stuck my tongue out at him and put my head on my desk again as Dumbledore came into the classroom. He moved to where the two of us were sitting.

"Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter, how are you holding up?" he asked, his face concerned.

"I'm fine, Professor," James answered courteously.

"I'm all right," I said. James shot me a skeptical look and I glared at him. "Really."

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well. Today's class will be strictly focused on producing Patronuses, so if you begin to feel fatigued, please stop."

I nodded and stood up, putting out my hand to help James. As soon as he stood, I pulled my hand from his and stepped back.

"Would you like to go first?" he asked.

"Uh, sure," I answered, feeling warm from even that innocent contact. "_Expecto Patronum!_"

Nothing, as usual. I sighed.

"What memory?" James asked.

"Hm… visiting Muggle Paris with Alice and Colleen last summer."

He nodded and then smiled, "My turn." He lifted his wand and cried, "_Expecto Patronum!"_

Suddenly, out of his wand bloomed a silver stag. It trotted towards me and I smiled, laughing delightedly. I stretched out my hand and gently petted the silver creature, who butted my hand with its head.

I looked up at James, beaming. He smiled back, saying, "Good, eh?"

I laughed. "Yeah! Nice job!"

He smiled and the stag disappeared under my hand. A second later, the rest of the class cheered and came to congratulate him on his accomplishment. He laughed, glowing as he accepted Dumbledore's compliments. I watched, smiling and trying to ignore the butterflies that I got from his infectious grin.

Class ended early so that Dumbledore could attend a teachers' meeting to decide what to do about the attack of the night before. I stumbled up to the Head Tower with James, who was finally starting to show some signs of fatigue.

When we reached the Head Tower, we clambered into the Common Room and collapsed next to each other on the couch. James sighed and flung his arms on the back of the sofa. I closed my eyes and, without meaning to, fell asleep.

**James**

A few minutes after we reached the Head Tower, I sighed and said, "Lily?" When I got no response, I glanced over at her, and smiled. She was asleep. She shifted, so that her head rested uncomfortably on her shoulder. I gently repositioned her so that she was resting on my chest.

An hour later, she finally stirred and woke. I looked at her, smiling. "Hey."

She blinked sleepily, and then shot off me like I was burning. "James!"

I chuckled. "That's the second time today you've woken up and said that, you know."

Lily glared at me, but before she could retort, Sirius burst into the portrait hole. "Hey, Prongs!"

"Hey," I answered, standing up. "What's wrong?"

"Full moon tomorrow," he answered. "I wanted to know if you were coming."

I stared at him in shock. "What the hell do you mean, if I'm coming? Of course I'm coming!"

Sirius put up his hands, backing up a step. "You took a Cruciatus, mate. Just wanted to make sure."

I relaxed and sank back onto the couch, my head spinning slightly. Damn Death Eaters.

Lily stood when I sat, staggering before quickly righting herself. I watched as she tiredly Summoned a teapot and three cups, as well as tea bags. She put them on a table and, using her wand, filled the pot with water and boiled it. Sirius watched, his mouth hanging open. I remarked, "You look like a first year seeing magic for the first time."

Sirius murmured, "Lily Evans is voluntarily making tea for James Potter and Sirius Black… I think I need to commemorate this moment." He pulled something small, black and squarish from his robes. I squinted and grinned. It was a magical camera I had given him for his fifteenth birthday. Some of our most important Marauder moments had been captured on that thing.

Lily looked up and, seeing the lens pointed at her, shrieked, hiding her face in her arms. I laughed and moved from the couch to pull her to her feet.

She resisted me, still hiding her face, pleading, "No, James, don't! I don't want a picture!"

"Yeah, but Sirius won't leave until he gets one," I answered, aware that Sirius was clicking away the whole time, catching our debate in silent motion.

Finally, I bent and hauled her to her feet. I positioned her in front of me and wrapped my arms around her waist and elbows, trapping her arms by her sides. She was panting, biting her lip furiously. I whispered in her ear, "Smile, Lily. He's going to take it anyways, you may as well smile."

She huffed, but, finally, smiled, and Sirius clicked the shutter (for maybe the hundredth time.)

I released Lily and she glared at me before collapsing to the couch. "I hate you, James," she growled.

I laughed as I sat down next to Sirius, tapping the camera with my wand. The pictures bloomed into the air in little thumbnail shots, and I tapped one. It blew up to show me and Lily, me tugging repeatedly on Lily's arm, Lily shaking her head and pulling away from me. The next one was much the same. Lily's mouth dropped open.

"And now, I hate you a lot more."

She never saw the final picture, of us standing together, my arms around her waist, both of us smiling at the camera.

))((

The next night, Lily sat worriedly in the window of the Head common room, as the sun slowly set. Sirius, Peter, and I were all getting ready for our night with Moony. In the morning, before classes, Lily would visit Remus in the Hospital Wing and give him some of an experimental potion she had been making and gradually perfecting since our fifth year. It seemed to help Remus recover and Madame Pomfrey seemed to appreciate Lily's help, not to mention the fact that Remus felt better when she was there.

Finally, at seven, Sirius patted Lily on the back, Peter waved, and I handed her my mirror, murmuring, "We'll contact you when we get back." She nodded, and the portrait closed on her worried face.

I pulled the Cloak on over us and peered at the Map. Sirius's breathing was tight. These nights, I knew, were painful for him. Just as he and I had a special bond, he and Remus had a special bond. The only time I had ever seen Sirius cry was after he told Snape Remus's secret and when transforming or running as a werewolf caused Remus pain.

Together, moving slowly so Peter wouldn't trip, we made it to the huge doors of the school without incident. Sirius and I pushed them open, and we slipped down to the willow.

A moment later, its branches stood still, and Sirius and I followed Wormy into the Shrieking Shack. After making sure Remus was situated, his clothes off so he wouldn't rip them transforming, his shaking body covered in a blanket, I slipped out of the Shack to cover the way into town, transforming as I went.

Twenty minutes later, the moon rose. My stag form's ears twitched. The wolf's sound would be coming soon…

Suddenly, a heartrending cry ripped through the air. "PADFOOT-" It trailed off into a howl, and my stag form (Prongs) snorted, the only way I could voice my terror for my werewolf friend.

After a few moments, Prongs sniffed the wind. Dog, wolf, rat. All were moving away from the town. Good. I trotted towards them, joining them in the Forest. Moony greeted me with a friendly growl, and I snorted happily, nudging my nose against his flank. As always, Padfoot stood right by the wolf, never straying more than a few feet from him.

Wormy clambered on my back, and then we ran, as we always did. We raced, fast and furious, Moony shooting ahead. Full moons were the only time when Remus could outstrip me and Sirius.

The wind whistled past us, trees flashing by, their leaves fluttering and whirring in the breeze our passing caused. Far away, Prongs's sensitive ears picked up the sound of centaurs murmuring to each other and even farther off, the sound of a monstrous spider's mandibles clashing.

Finally, Padfoot urged the werewolf back towards the Shack. Prongs nudged Moony in farewell and galloped away to block the road towards the town.

Slowly, the sun rose, and when the moon had disappeared, I shrank, my front hooves pulling up from in front of me to become my arms, resting at my sides, my tail disappearing, my antlers receding into my hair, which turned black and sprouted out of my head. Within seconds I was sprinting for the Shack.

Once there, I snuck around the back entrance and raced up the stairs to the old bedroom where Remus transformed.

And there he was, curled up, his clothes folded beside him where he had taken them off hours previously, covered in a thin blanket. Beside him, his face watchful, tear tracks on his cheeks (as usual) was Sirius. On the floor, not bothering to become human because we needed him to stop the willow, was Peter. I squatted next to Sirius.

"Was it bad?" I asked in an undertone.

"Not the worst it's been, but yeah," he murmured.

I patted Sirius's shoulder and then moved to the chair where I had slung my rucksack. I pulled out the mirror and whispered, "Lily. Lily Evans."

A moment later, Lily's tired face appeared. "Is he okay?"

"As much as can be expected," I sighed. "We'll be coming over soon."

"All right. I'll meet you in the Hospital Wing." Suddenly, Lily's hand appeared in the glass, gently touching the spot where I could faintly see my left eye being reflected. "You're bruised… I'll bring something for that, too. See you soon, James." And she was gone.

If Remus had not required my immediate attention, I would have stared at the mirror for a good hour. As it was, Sirius and I had to levitate him, cover the three of us in the Cloak, and maneuver our way back into the castle. Then, with Peter in my pocket, we hurried to the Hospital Wing. Removing the Cloak, Sirius and I brought Remus inside, leaving Peter at the door. He changed back and a moment later joined us.

Lily was already by Remus's bedside, pouring something grey and bitter smelling into his mouth. Remus coughed, lurching on the bed. Sirius stiffened next to me, and I put a hand on his shoulder. Remus's eyes slowly opened.

Lily smiled at him as Madame Pomfrey came up behind her. "Hello, Remus."

He smiled at her, his golden eyes tired. "Hey."

Madame Pomfrey smiled fondly at him. "All right, dears, you can go to bed now. I'll bandage your friend and send him up in a moment."

I nodded and gently clapped Remus's shoulder, Sirius bent and hugged him softly, and Peter patted his hand. Lily kissed his forehead, and then the four of us trooped out with heavy hearts.

The way was clear to Gryffindor and the Head towers, so we didn't bother with the Cloak. Lily and I spilt from Sirius and Peter and moved to the Head Tower.

Once there, I sank down on the couch. Lily, about to go upstairs, looked at me. "James?"

I smiled. "I keep forgetting you didn't live with me and the others in our dorm room last year. Every full moon, Padfoot, Wormtail, and I don't sleep. Moony told us once by accident that on nights after he transforms, a lot of times he's in too much pain to sleep. So we don't, either."

Lily came over and sat down next to me, her eyes slightly glassy. "That's… that's so sweet," she murmured.

I gave a little chuckle, trying not to show how elated her words made me. "It's nothing. Sirius, Peter and I look at it as more of a necessity." I sighed, leaning my head back.

She gasped, "Oh!" and I looked up. "Hmm?"

"I forgot about your bruise. One minute." She raced upstairs and was back a moment later with some gunk in a glass. "Tip your head back again," she instructed.

I did so, and gently, with the tips of her index and middle fingers, she rubbed the gunk onto my bruised eye. "How did you get this?" she asked.

"Not from Moony, if that's what you're wondering… I really don't know. When I get injuries as Prongs from trees and stuff, it isn't very clear, or something I can remember really well." I had to focus to keep breathing normally as her soft fingers massaged my bruise.

A moment later she pulled back and said, "There."

I lifted my head and searched for a mirror. She handed me the mirror from my rucksack, and I looked at myself, smiling.

The area that had once been black and blue and tender under my eye had now turned back to its normal color and felt fine to touch. I grinned at Lily. "You're incredible," I said. "You should really think about going into healing or something."

Lily blushed. "I'm not that good."

I sighed. "I'm not going to argue with you, but you are, you know." I put my head back again, the mirror resting in my lap.

For the remaining three or four hours of the night, Lily and I stayed awake, talking some, but mostly sitting in silence, thinking.

At seven, Lily and I got up, showered in our respective bathrooms, and met by the portrait hole. Together we sprinted to the Hospital Wing, arriving at the same time as Sirius and Peter. We moved into the Hospital Wing to find Remus looking much better. All of us sat around him.

"Hey," he smiled, his voice only slightly cracked.

"Hey, Moony," Peter answered.

"How are you feeling?" asked Lily briskly, taking out her notebook. "What did the potion do?"

"Eased the sore throat, helped me relax, but I still couldn't sleep, and healed the cuts in twenty minutes," Remus recited.

Lily nodded. "Good, that's five minute faster than last time… the relaxing is new, I knew that herb would help… Muggle remedies sometimes work…" She trailed off, muttering to herself, already planning the things she would change for next month's formula.

Remus looked up at us. "How was I?" he asked, softly.

Sirius growled. "In pain."

"Not answering my question, Pads," Remus murmured.

"Fine," I answered. "No one was hurt."

Our friend sighed in relief, his body visibly relaxing as his lids closed over golden eyes. "Good."

So we wouldn't be late for class, Peter, Sirius, Lily, and I left as soon as Remus had fallen into a comfortable sleep.

We got to Transfiguration on time, and McGonagall looked worriedly at us. I gave a tiny nod, and a smile of relief nearly broke out on her face. McGonagall worried about Remus almost as much as we did.

When everyone had arrived, McGonagall stood and said, "Before I begin this lesson, I would like to remind you all that Hogsmede weekend is coming up. Please do not forget to register your signed parent/guardian notes with me. Now, our lesson today is…"

My eyes widened. Hogsmede weekend. Lily. My history of asking her out…

I had a decision to make. Would I ask her out, or let her make the first move? What if there was no first move?

I would have failed class that day, had Lily not, in a moment of generosity, allowed me to copy off of her notes.

**A/N: **Just one small thing- for any reader wondering if there is going to be a slash Remus/Sirius pairing in this story, there isn't. Sirius and Remus's bond in this story is strictly as the closest of friends, nothing romantic.

Please review!

))Riiko Shea((


	11. A Prank, a Fight, and an Awakening

**A/N: **Wow, school has been so busy I have had barely any time to write this… and yet I found some time! Yay!

Anyways, I just wanted to thank my incredible readers (over two thousand hits… you have no idea how that number excites me, despite its small stature) and my reviewers, who gave me the five reviews I asked for… let's do it again, all right?

**Disclaimer:** Exactly what it says. A disclaimer.

**And Then Came the Rain**

**Chapter Eleven**

**A Prank, a Fight, and an Awakening**

**James**

I sat in the Head Common Room two days after the announcement about Hogsmede, completely zoned out, only barely aware of Lily sitting across the room, playing Wizard's Chess with Alice, Frank, and Colleen. I was having an internal debate.

Was I, or was I not, going to ask Lily to go to Hogsmede with me?

Suddenly, the portrait hole slammed open. I leapt to my feet, wand at the ready, Lily doing the same thing, before we realized it was Sirius.

"BLOODY hell, Padfoot! Are you trying to give me a sodding heart attack?" I snapped, sinking onto the couch and grabbed my chest above my heart. Lily frowned at me.

"James, watch your language," she said, primly, before whirling on Sirius and hissing, "And if you EVER scare me like that again, I swear I'll make it so you'll wish you had never been born!"

Sirius whimpered and tried to hide behind Remus. Remus rolled his eyes and went over to sit next to Lily, who had gone back to her game (quite calmly for someone delivering such painful threats). Peter followed while I looked at Sirius.

"Well, I assume you had some reason to come in here, other than trying to scare me into my grave a few years early?" I asked, sighing. His face brightened and he sat next to me on the couch.

"Absolutely!" he said. "Listen, how many pranks have we pulled this year?"

I thought. "Um… the door to our compartment first day… the Transfiguration one… that was brilliant…" I stopped. "Oh, wow."

"Exactly," Sirius nodded. "Two pranks. That's it. We're at an all-time low. If we don't do something soon, we'll be an utter disgrace to this school-"

"-and to the Marauder name," sighed Remus. I glanced at him and he gave me a crooked grin. "He's been complaining about this for weeks now. I have his little spiel memorized."

I chuckled, before glancing at Lily to see what she thought of this little conversation. I met her eyes. She had been watching me… how odd. She quickly turned away, blushing, and back to the board game. I smirked before looking back at the Marauders.

"Well then, mates, what's the prank going to be?"

"It's got to be good," said Sirius. "This is the prank that will have to redeem us from our disgrace."

"Disgrace?" murmured Remus. "I don't think it's quite that dire…"

"No talking, just think," commanded Colleen. I blinked at her.

"Since when did you become a Marauder?" I asked. Colleen sighed.

"Do you want our help or not?"

"Fine, fine, just curious," I said. "What ideas do you have?"

Alice bit her lip. "Well, actually, I have no ideas."

Frank shrugged and Colleen twirled some hair around her finger. Peter, Sirius, Remus and I stared into space, each of us plotting something different until Lily snapped, "_I _can help, did anyone think to ask me?"

As one, everyone's heads snapped in her direction. I heard Sirius's neck crack and he rubbed it, wincing. Lily rolled her eyes as we, her audience, searched for something to say.

"Come again?" Remus finally asked.

"I said I could help," growled Lily, her cheeks flushing slightly.

I continued to gape at her, but Remus didn't look quite as surprised. He raised his eyebrows. "Got ideas, have you?"

Lily grinned. "Loads.

))((

The next morning, we walked into Charms. I sat next to Sirius, Remus and Lily ahead of us, Peter and Colleen behind, with Alice and Frank behind them. Sirius was going to be doing the prank, a combination of our efforts from the past night.

As Flitwick scrambled to the top of his stack of books, he commanded, "Everyone, textbooks out on your desks, but do not open them." There was a great rustling and banging as everyone pulled out their Charms textbooks. Once everyone's book was on their desks, I nudged Sirius with my elbow.

He grinned and waved his wand under his desk, muttering a spell under his breath. With a bang, every textbook in the classroom fell open.

And then they began to sing.

People shouted in surprise (some more colorfully than others) and Flitwick fell off his stack of books with a squeak as the books began a fifty-part harmony in several dozen languages, mostly Mermish, German, and a combination of noises that Remus had put together last night, labeling it as, "Gnomish."

As we all watched the ensuing chaos, I realized that I didn't know what the books were saying. "Moony, what're they singing?"

"James and Myrtle, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"

))((

"That was brilliant!" Alice enthused as we left the classroom.

"Definitely!" beamed Sirius. "The best part is poor Flitwick was so shocked that he totally forgot about giving us detention!"

I glared. "Whose brilliant idea was their song?"

Lily laughed. "I told you I had ideas!"

))((

The day dragged on. Finally, classes had ended, and I had come to a conclusion. I was going to ask Lily to go to Hogsmede with me.

I felt incredibly nervous at dinner. As the Marauders and I ate with Lily and her friends, I watched her, wondering what she would say. Lily got up to leave, and I stood a moment after, following her out of the room.

And yet, I couldn't go up to her. I couldn't ask her, even though I'd asked her so many times before. Lily's friendship was too precious to me. I didn't want to lose it.

Suddenly, just before we reached the Head Tower, someone called, "Lily?" I bit my lip and pulled from my ever-present rucksack the Cloak, slipping it on and standing to the side of the corridor. I didn't want to be caught lurking after her. Lily turned just as I disappeared to face Nathan McLaggen coming around the corner. I grimaced. He was an obnoxious Gryffindor, probably a nice guy at heart, but with a huge ego.

_Kind of like you, _hissed a voice in my head. I bit my lip again, this time drawing blood. Wincing, I turned my attention back to the pair.

"Hey, Nathan," Lily greeted him. "What's up?"

"Nothing." McLaggen seemed awkward. Lily watched him, until he finally said, "Will you go to Hogsmede with me?"

My mouth dropped. _Stupid James. Stupid! You should have _seen _that coming!_

Lily blinked. In my mind I begged her to say no.

"Sure, why not."

I fell backwards against the wall, biting my knuckle to keep from screaming. I didn't hear them agree on where to meet, I didn't see him give her a kiss on her cheek that she was quick to wipe off when he had again rounded the corner, nothing.

I sat in the hallway for a half-hour before finally standing, pulling off the Cloak, and stepping into the Head Common Room. Burying my head in m hands, I sank onto the sofa-

"James!"

I yelped, startled out of my depression, to see that I had been about to sit on Lily. My face flamed and I backed up quickly. "Sorry," I muttered. "I wasn't paying attention."

"I'll say," she smiled. Then her eyes found mine and her smile dropped. "James? What's wrong?"

I shook my head. I needed to go and let myself mourn for a while before I could face her again. With that, I slipped up the stairs and into my room, leaving Lily, confused, behind me.

**Lily**

Hogsmede weekend came slower than I would have liked. Every day was torture, with McLaggen glued to my side every moment and James hardly talking to me. I didn't know why, but I suspected it had something to do with McLaggen taking me to Hogsmede.

Although, it was true James hadn't asked me out for a while. He surely didn't have feelings for me anymore.

Finally, the anticipated (huh- more like dreaded) morning came. I got dressed and went down to the courtyard, soon met by McLaggen. He leaned in to kiss me and I sidestepped, unable to take it anymore.

Therefore, he looked slightly put out as we made our way into the village. Soon, his face became more irritated as Remus, Sirius, Peter, Frank, Alice, Colleen, and James joined us, Alice and Colleen pulling me into the midst of the Marauders so I wouldn't have to stand near McLaggen. I remembered our conversation when they had found out I was going to the village with him…

))Begin flashback((

"You're WHAT?" Alice whirled around from where she had been looking at herself in my mirror and gaped at me.

"Ew, Lily, he's so obnoxious, and he's certainly not smart or good-looking." Colleen winced.

I sighed. "No kidding. It's been one day, and if I have to tell him to get his hands off me one more time I swear he won't have them anymore."

Alice grinned, but her eyes were worried. "How's James taking it?"

"Why does it matter?" I demanded. "_I'm_ going out with him, not James."

"That's exactly the point… and anyways, _you_ like James. What are you doing with McLaggen?"

I shook my head, trying not to think of my thoughts after our fight with the Death Eaters... _I am in love with James Potter_. "Whatever, it's too late to back out of Hogsmede now. Just… stay close to me in the village, 'kay? And," I added as an afterthought, "bring the Marauders with you."

))End flashback((

Now we were in Hogsmede. I allowed my friends to pull me into Zonko's, Honeydukes, and a few other stores, despite McLaggen's increasingly furious and desperate attempts to get me to leave with him.

Eventually, we settled in the Three Broomsticks, each of us getting a butterbeer. Sighing in contentment, I realized that really, if McLaggen would just go away, this day would be perfect.

Suddenly, the door banged open, and the room fell instantly silent. My mouth dropped and fear flooded me like an icy river.

Death Eaters.

As if someone had thrown a switch, all hell broke loose. My friends and I ducked as our table was shattered by a spell. I swore and pulled out my wand, screaming, "_Stupefy!"_ sending masked Death Eaters flying. I glanced around and saw Alice was bleeding. Colleen and Frank grabbed her and suddenly disappeared. I guessed that they had Apparated as close to Hogwarts as they could, no doubt to get Alice some help and to summon reinforcements.

At the moment, though, I couldn't dwell on that. I dodged an Unforgivable and delivered a Body Bind in return. Everywhere people were screaming. Some of the braver folks were dueling, but most were trying to escape the suddenly dark, crowded room.

It was insanity. I smelled blood, and burning, mixed with the scent of the drinks spilled everywhere. Tables, chairs, and shelves were destroyed as spells missed or people dodged.

The Marauders and I finally pushed ourselves back to back near the center of the room, delivering and blocking spells. I couldn't think, couldn't speak other than to shout curses and spells.

And then he was there. Lucius. I whimpered and then sent a Body Bind at him. He chuckled and side-stepped it, his polished boots treading on a motionless figure on the floor. I gagged but instantly had to duck as his Cruciatus shot towards me. I screamed a warning to Remus, behind me, and he moved, just in time. Next to him, James was frantically fighting Rodolphus Lestrange, trying to get to me.

"What do you want?" I hissed, stepped forward to engage the blond man. His grin was feral as he and I circled each other.

"I want firstly for you to die, and secondly, I want glory for the purebloods and for the Dark Lord," he answered, his face twisting unpleasantly as I avoided another of his curses.

"_Step aside, Lucius, others. I wish to enter."_

Even in the semi-darkness of the room, I saw Lucius's face pale. He whispered, "As you wish, my Lord," and dropped his wand. My eyes widened, and thinking only of revenge I stepped up to him, hissing, "_Crucio._"

However, I didn't have time to watch Lucius writhe in the grips of my curse, because suddenly, I felt my hands being yanked together and pulled upward, suspending me a few feet above the floor. My wand clattered to the ground as I heard swearing and Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter joined me. All of us turned to face the door, rotating ever so slightly with the air currents in the room.

My eyes widened as the scarred wooden door was pushed open, and inside walked a figure with white skin, snakelike slits for nostrils, and red eyes, burning with hatred. His long, white fingers didn't grip his wand as much as finger it, as a flute player might hold their instrument before playing it.

Voldemort.

He cast a disinterested glance at Lucius who lay, panting, on the floor, the curse finally having worn off. "Stand, Lucius," hissed the Dark Lord. Lucius weakly complied, staggering to his feet. Rodolphus strode to his side to help him.

Now, Voldemort was regarding us with ill-disguised contempt and malice. "How touching," he hissed, his voice harsh. "Five friends remain to fight. So… valiant." His voice was mocking. I glowered at him, anger forcing aside fear.

"You, young Black, and you, Potter, are purebloods. Even the werewolf and the little boy are worth offering a place in my army. But," and here he turned his horrid eyes on me, "you must die. Your talent is good, but you are not worth the effort to make worthy of my forces. Lucius," he turned, "you may now kill the girl."

"NO!" shouted James. "NO!" He writhed in his invisible bonds, swearing and struggling. I felt myself being lowered to the ground, and then I was being grabbed by Lucius, who drew back his hand, and punched me.

I fell to the ground without a sound, my eyes rolling back in my head as I tried to keep from blacking out. "Revenge," growled Lucius, and then he was lifting his wand, and-

"STOP!"

Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Slughorn were running in the door… their spells were flying, Voldemort was shouting and then gone, and Rodolphus, Lucius, and the remaining Death Eaters were sending out last-ditch attempts at spells, and then…

"Is she all right?"

"Mhph… what?" I opened my eyes to find myself in the Hospital Wing. Again. I groaned. Madame Pomfrey hurried over with Alice, who had a bandaged arm, Colleen, Frank, and the Marauders. Each one hugged me as Madame Pomfrey explained that my jaw had been broken and she had repaired it. I sighed and thanked her, and then froze. James wasn't with his friends, standing by my bedside.

"Madame Pomfrey, where's James?"

"He's… not doing so well. He was hit by a very strong… something… just before the teachers sent the Death Eaters away. We don't know what spell it was, unfortunately."

I sat up and then stood, despite Madame Pomfrey's protests. My friends were silent. I staggered to the other occupied bed in the room. The sheets were bloody from numerous wounds he had sustained, and his breathing, I could see, was shallow.

My eyes found his face. His hazel eyes were hidden from me by bruised lids.

James. James. James…

I heard a soft wailing noise, and realized that it was me.

))((

I found out that the three Marauders had been taking turns sitting by James's bedside, and I said I would do the same thing. Each of us sat in two-class increments during the day and four hour increments after classes. Whenever his parents could, they visited and sat watch over him, too.

But it was clear that Madame Pomfrey, the teachers, and the rest of the school was beginning to lose hope that James would ever recover. I watched him, breathing with him, and nearly suffocated. How were such tiny breaths sufficient to keep him alive?

))((

I promised myself that if he woke up, I would tell him I loved him.

I swore that I'd do anything he liked if I could hear him laugh again.

I vowed that I would be his eternally if I could see his eyes again.

There was no need to think of what I would do if he died.

It was obvious to me now (too late) that I had no life without James.

I would, without a doubt, stay by his side in death, too.

))((

Two weeks later, it happened.

I was sitting in the third hour of my watch, at around midnight. Despite my best intentions, I had dozed off, until I heard something moving. My eyes flew open and were met by eyes I thought I might never see again.

"James?"

"… Hey, Lily."

I began to cry as I leaned down and hugged him, never happier then I was at that moment, all of the fright, pain, worry, and sorrow that had plagued me flying away as he weakly embraced me back. Everything would be all right…

Until I heard a voice inside my head that sounded strangely like Remus; my guilty, honest, annoying conscience.

_Remember your promises,_ it said.

Oh, those.

**A/N: **There you go! Rather intense, hm? This chapter sort of took on a life of its own… it totally deviated from where I wanted to go with it, but I think it came out all right anyways.

Please review!

))Riiko Shea((

P.S. I hope I got all the facts and grammer right in this... if not, I apologize.


	12. Being Forcibly Snogged, Death, and Rain

**A/N: **Wow, this chapter is really long. And also kind of depressing. I'm sorry… hopefully it will make the events of the next chapter that much better. I also wanted to show how much James cares for Lily again, in this chapter. I guess. O.O

Anyways, thanks so much to all who reviewed, it means a lot! And now…

**And Then Came the Rain**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Being Forcibly Snogged, Death, and Rain**

**James**

"James?"

My eyes had been slightly unfocused. I had looked at Lily before smiling. "…Hey, Lily."

She had started crying, kneeling beside my bed to hug me. I had weakly hugged her back.

That had been last night. Now Lily and I were having a meeting with Dumbledore by my bed, since I wasn't yet allowed out of the Hospital Wing.

"I was quite relieved to hear of your recovery, Mr. Potter," smiled Dumbledore. I grinned back.

Then the headmaster's face fell. "However," he sighed, "this attack was quite worrisome. Voldemort seems to be growing bolder in his tactics. I can only hope that this last attempt at infiltrating an area near the school will be a lesson to him."

Lily snorted delicately. "I highly doubt that, Professor," she murmured. Dumbledore nodded.

"As do I. For that reason, I am tripling protection around Hogwarts and Hogsmede, and students shall not be allowed into Hogsmede until further notice."

"What about the attacks?" I asked. "The planned ones, I mean."

Dumbledore tugged his beard, the first time I had ever seen him show indecisiveness. "I believe that, for the moment, the planned attacks shall take backseat. I eventually would like to bring them back…" He passed a hand over his glasses, sighing. "Alas, things do not always work out."

Finally, he stood, settling his robes around himself before turning to us. "Well, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, I hope you have a good and restful day and thank you for your tremendous work two weeks ago." And then he was gone.

Lily sighed and pushed her hair back from her eyes, leaning back against my headboard, her shoulder barely brushing mine. I smiled slightly, closing my eyes and leaning back, too, feeling slightly drained yet energized by how close Lily was.

"James?"

"Mm?"

"Do you know who hit you?"

I growled softly. "Voldemort. Why me, I don't know."

"Accidental, I think," she answered. "That's what Pomfrey said."

"Okay," I said. We lapsed into silence.

"Lily?"

"Yes, James?"

"What happened to McLaggen?"

It was Lily's turn to growl now. "The idiot ran from the fight… left all of us behind. You might not have gotten hurt if he had been there…I got even with him, though, believe you me."

I laughed softly, immensely touched by her words. "What did you do?" I asked, curious.

"Oh." I opened my eyes and saw Lily blushing.

"What?" I asked. "Come on, it can't be that bad."

"Oh yes, it can," she muttered. "I… well… I turned him green, made him grow whiskers, and then hung him from the Astronomy Tower in his underclothes."

I stared at her before bursting into laughter. "You took a picture, right?"

She laughed as well. "Yeah, of course!" She pulled out a camera from her bag on the floor. I looked at it. "Isn't that mine?"

"Yes… should I not have borrowed it?" Lily looked worried and I grinned.

"No worries, what's mine is yours. Let me see." Taking it from its bedside table, I tapped the camera with my wand and then selected one of the thumbnails.

There he was, the heavyset McLaggen, writhing and shouting from where he hung on the Astronomy Tower, long whiskers drooping from his face, his skin a vibrant green, his white underclothes stark against the cloudy sky. I roared with laughter, and Lily grinned.

"Wow," I finally said. "And you didn't get in trouble?"

"No," she answered, sounding smug. "I think that if I hadn't done anything, Sirius might have murdered him, so the teachers were fine with me having it my way. Plus, he was totally cowardly! Inexcusable!"

I continued to smile, looking at the picture, before minimizing it and shutting off the camera. "So that's it, huh?"

"Yep. That's basically the only big thing you missed while you were out."

"Nice."

We sat in silence for a moment. Then I said, "Thanks, Lily."

"For what?" she asked, surprised.

"For being here. You know, watching me, and punishing McLaggen… It really means a lot to me." I fell silent, and then, unable to resist, added softly, "_You_ mean a lot to me."

And then it happened. So suddenly I couldn't even comprehend it had happened… was happening.

Lily was kissing me.

Recovering swiftly from my moment of shock, I reached up, tangling my fingers in her hair, kissing her as fiercely as I possibly could, pulling her down towards me. She responded with equal passion, her hands going to either side of my torso, leaning on my chest…

Then she pulled back. I gave a little moan, opening my eyes. Her head was above mine, her eyes shocked and worried, her face red and her lips bruised. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered, panting slightly, into my ear, "This… never happened."

"What?" I gasped.

"Please," she begged. "Forget it. It never happened." And then she was gone.

I stared after her, shocked. After a moment, I glanced up. The Marauders, eyes wide, were standing at the door. "Prongs…" choked Sirius.

"Did Lily Evans just forcibly snog you?!" cried Remus. Peter just stood there, looking shell-shocked. I felt sort of the same way.

"Um… yes. Yes, she did."

"And then she tells you to forget that it ever happened?" Remus continued.

"Pretty much."

"What are you going to do?" asked Sirius.

"I'm…" I paused. What _was_ I going to do? Then I sighed. "I'm going to… _mostly_ forget about it."

In unison, my friends' mouths dropped. It would have been hilarious if I hadn't been so offended by their shock. "What?"

"You're actually going to forget?" squeaked Peter.

"Who are you and what have you done with James Potter?" demanded Sirius. I sighed.

How could I explain to them my reasons? I wanted to be more mature, more like Lily wanted me to be. I would do anything for her. I still hadn't really realized we had snogged.

I decided on the simplest answer, the one that would make me sounds the least ridiculous. "Lily asked me to forget about it, and I will do anything, absolutely anything, for her," I said. Sirius sighed.

"It's a nice sentiment, mate. If you want to do that, then we won't mention it either." I smiled at him gratefully, before realizing something. "Hey, what did you guys want?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "What did you think we wanted? You've been out of consciousness for two weeks! Of course we wanted some time with you!"

I laughed as the three sat on my bed. They had come to visit me when I had first woken up, but we hadn't had much time alone together. So now, I grinned at them, feeling insanely, embarrassingly happy that we were together, the Marauders.

Sirius grinned back, and then said, "So what'll our next pranks be?"

**Lily**

_I just kissed James Potter._

I _just _kissed _James Potter._

_I _just_ kissed _James Potter.

I was running, running as fast as I could, from the Hospital Wing, after having made the biggest mistake of my life. I had been sitting next to him, confident in my ability to restrain myself from telling him everything, until he said, "_You_ mean a lot to me."

And I had lost it. I had reached over and pressed my lips to his. At first, he hadn't responded, and I feared that I had made a grave error. But then, he was pulling me down, his lips ravishing my own, and it was all I could do to pull away from the wrongness of it.

And yet, it was the rightness that held me there.

It wasn't making sense.

I needed a drink.

))((

Two days later, I was standing in the Hospital Wing with the Marauders, Alice, Colleen, and Frank as James was released. He grinned, standing on his own for the first time, holding his rucksack.

We trooped to the Head Common Room. I watched James for any sign of fatigue. Despite his vehement protests of, "I'm fine, I'm fine, now stop babying me!" all of us stood close to him, ready to catch him should he stumble.

Reclining on the couches in the Head Common Room, we talked, all of us with small glasses of firewhiskey that Sirius had stolen for us from the kitchen. It felt good to sit and joke, all of us together, and it felt like Dementors, Death Eaters, and Voldemort were all far away, somewhere where they couldn't get to us.

))((

November began to pass. Soon, James was attending classes again, pulled few more pranks, and patrolled with me as Head Boy.

But he never mentioned the kiss. He had, apparently, forgotten it, just as I had asked him to.

I didn't particularly like that feeling, that feeling that he had been able to forget so quickly about that kiss, the first he'd ever willingly been given by the girl he professed to adore.

But I couldn't complain. He had done what I had asked of him. Our friendship was more important, anyways.

Thanksgiving was nearing, in the wake of a brisk chill in the air. Two weeks before the holiday, I was sitting uncomfortably in the dungeons, making notes from Slughorn's lecture on how to produce a Dreamless Sleep potion, something I already knew how to do.

Next to me, James rubbed his hands together, yawning. I glanced at the parchment in front of him. No notes. Apparently, he also knew how to produce this particular potion.

Suddenly his eyes flashed to mine, and he grinned. Taking his quill, he wrote on his parchment, Bored, Lily?

I smiled and wrote on the corner of my own, _Yes. I know how to do this already._

Oh, so clever, Ms. Evans.

_Sod off, you know I didn't mean it like that!_

And now, such language. Tsk, your behavior is not befitting of Head Girl.

_Right, and you're the ideal Head Boy?_

Obviously.

_Insert a huge eye roll right here._

Wow, way to ruin my self-esteem. 

_Your self esteem doesn't need any help from me, I guarantee it._

James glanced up at me and gave me a puppy dog face. I rolled my eyes, for real this time, but inwardly my heart was racing. It really wasn't fair that he was so good-looking…

He went back to the parchment.

Are you excited for Thanksgiving?

_Obviously. The food here is so much better than at home… not like there's anyone to cook at home this year anyways._

Oh. I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me.

_Did you just apologize for being insensitive? And it isn't your fault, don't worry about it. _

James looked up at me again, mouthing, "Sorry, really," and then Slughorn was dismissing class. Alice and Colleen leapt up and pulled me along frantically. Apparently, they had something important to tell me.

Soon, we were seated in my room. "Okay, so what's up?" I asked.

"Huge news is what," stated Colleen excitedly. "Alice?"

Alice blushed bright red. "I- I know it's soon, but it can always be broken off…" She held out her left hand, where a small diamond sparkled. I gasped.

"Oh my God, he proposed?! You're engaged?!" I shrieked. Alice blushed even darker and nodded again. I screamed and hugged her tightly. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," she said. "We'll see how things go… if it works out, we'll get married the summer after we graduate."

"It'll be perfect," reassured Colleen. "You and Frank were meant to be together."

"Without a doubt!" I agreed. "But come on, why are we up here? Let's go to Gryffindor Common Room and celebrate!"

Colleen endorsed this idea whole-heartedly and she dragged a protesting Alice down to the kitchens to get some firewhiskey and food. I went across the landing to James's room, knocking on the door.

"Come in!" he called, and I pushed open the door, wincing, expecting a… well, mess doesn't even _begin _to describe the Marauders' dorm room last year.

However, I was pleasantly surprised. His room was neat, his bed was made except for the comforter, which was pushed to the foot of the bed, his floor and carpet clean, his drawers closed, without giving a hint of what was in them.

James himself was standing by the window, feeding owl treats to his white owl. I smiled and went over to them.

He looked up, his hazel eyes welcoming. "Hey," he murmured, to not scare his owl. "Want to feed her?"

"Sure," I answered, taking some of the proffered treats. "What's her name?"

"Ophelia," he answered. I blinked at him. He groaned. "No, not after the whole Shakespeare dude's Ophelia. She was one of the first female teachers at Hogwarts…"

"And you know this how?" I asked.

"I read _Hogwarts, a History_, obviously," he answered, as if I were slightly insane. I stared at him and he sighed.

"Spare me your shock. What is it you wanted to tell me?"

I shook my head to clear it and said, "Well, Frank and Alice got engaged-"

"Really?!" he shouted. His owl hooted in disdain before turning and soaring out the window. I grinned.

"Yes, really. So we're having a party in Gryffindor Common Room to celebrate. Are you in?"

"If it's a party, I'm there," James grinned. "See you in a few."

Fifteen minutes later I was in Gryffindor Common Room watching as people cheered Alice and Frank, both of whom were blushing. I sank down on the couch, only to have James appear a moment later with two bottles of firewhiskey. I stared at him and he quirked an eyebrow, daring me to take one. Slowly, I did so, and he grinned.

Finally, the party died down, and James wrapped us in the Invisibility Cloak to take us back to our dorm. I bit my lip as our bodies brushed together under the Cloak. It was getting harder and harder to keep myself from snogging James with the firewhiskey running through me.

Suddenly, James stopped. I did as well, scuffing back quickly to stay hidden under the Cloak. He waited, barely breathing. I could tell he was straining his animagi-enhanced sight and hearing.

Then he moved, pressing me against the wall. I stopped breathing as his body pressed mine up against the cold stone of the wall. He glanced over his shoulder. I did the same.

Out of the darkness, Mrs. Norris strolled, followed by Filch. "You heard naughty students out of bed, sweet?" growled Filch. I bit my lip as Mrs. Norris mewled, turning her lamp-like eye to where we were pressed against the wall. Filch followed her eyes but shook his head. "No one there, pet. They must have moved. We'll catch them, sweet." He limped down the corridor. The cat followed, but turned to glare at us one more time before she left.

I let out the breath I had been holding, relieved, and then suddenly realized where I was. I lifted my eyes to James's. They were dark as they flicked from my eyes to my lips. Slowly, hesitantly, he leaned forward…

And I shifted away, with a little moan. He sighed and released me. We stepped away from the wall and started walking in silence to the Head Tower. Finally, James groaned. "What was that?" he said. "I haven't forgotten, you know. About that day after I woke up."

My blood turned to ice. "I- I don't know."

James glared at me, his glasses shining dangerously. When we reached the Tower, he pulled the Cloak roughly from my shoulders and stomped up to his bedroom. I watched him go, sinking down onto the couch and putting my head in my hands.

))((

The next morning, I waited downstairs for James like I usually did. When he came down from his bedroom, he gave me a nod and then left the room. I froze on the couch. What the hell?

Getting up, I rushed out after him, grabbing his arm outside the Great Hall. "James! What was that?"

He looked down at me tiredly. "Listen, I just really… don't want to deal with you today, okay? Please. For one day." And then he shook me off and walked into the Great Hall. I stared after him, and then sighed. He must have been irritated about last night. I groaned and then walked in as well, sitting up near the front with Alice, Colleen, and Frank.

"What's wrong?" whispered Alice when I glanced over at James and the Marauders. They appeared to be having a heated conversation.

"Nothing," I murmured. The rush of wings announced the owls delivering the mail. I jumped back as an owl landed on my plate. I stared at it. I recognized this owl; Lawrence, the owl I had given my parents in case of an emergency.

Slowly, I took the letter he was holding and opened it.

_Lily,_

_I had to use this ridiculous bird because I had no other way to tell you this. Mother passed away two days ago, due to complications with the cancer and her treatment. We buried her this morning. So sorry you couldn't come._

_Petunia_

I stared at the letter, written on crisp Muggle paper, not parchment. Died two days ago. Sorry I couldn't come? Did Petunia hate me that much?

"Lily?" Colleen was shaking me. I snapped back to attention. "Oh, sorry. What's up?"

Colleen looked at me suspiciously. "Are you okay? You look like you're going to cry."

"I'm fine," I answered. "Late night last night, remember?"

I stumbled through the day. In Transfiguration, I performed mundanely, causing McGonagall to suggest I go to the Hospital Wing. In the rest of my classes, this cycle was repeated. All day, as well, I felt several pairs of eyes glued to me worriedly.

Finally, Defense ended. My Patronus was non-existent, without even a streak of silver showing itself. As soon as Dumbledore dismissed us, I was up and running, racing to my bedroom, ignoring the frantic calls of, "Lily? Lily!" behind me.

Reaching the Head Tower, I whispered the password to the portrait and slipped inside, running up to my room.

Once there, I shut the door, casting a Silencing charm on my room so I could sink to the floor and cry.

**James**

I had never felt so bad in my life as I stood outside Lily's door. After I had blown her off in the beginning of the day, I had felt slightly guilty, though she had seemed fine.

But as the day wore on, she seemed to be falling apart. Her work in class was awful, she didn't answer any questions, and I didn't see her talk to anyone. When our last class ended, I tried to catch her and ask her what was wrong, but she was gone.

Now, I was straining to hear anything from inside her room. It was uncannily silent. Why? I racked my brains before slapping my forehead. Silencing Charm. "Stupid Prongs," I muttered, stepping forward. Suddenly I halted as paper rustled under my foot.

I bent and picked up a crumpled envelope, with Lily's name on it in elegant script. I stared at it, and then knocked on the door, now having a pretense to enter her room.

A moment later, the door opened. I gasped. "Oh my God, Lily, what's-"

"Just tell me what you want, James," whispered Lily. Her eyes were bloodshot, tear tracks running down her face. I bit my lip.

"Uh… this was outside." I handed her the envelope and she took it before turning and shutting the door in my face.

I turned away, my heart aching, finally understanding the old rule of _Treat others as you want to be treated._

**Lily**

The day after I found out my mother had died, I was fine, perfectly cheery and smiling. I apologized to my friends for my behavior, and all of them accepted it without question.

Except for James. He stared at me searchingly as I apologized, interrupting me to ask, "Lily, what's the matter?"

"I… Nothing," I sighed. Inwardly, I screamed, _Everything!_ But I had to be strong, so I smiled at him.

James bit his lip and gently brushed his fingertips over my eyes. "It doesn't reach your eyes," he stated.

"What?" I asked.

"Your smile."

I blinked and then made some excuse about having homework. I spent twenty minutes standing in front of the mirror, trying to make my smile reach my eyes.

Two more days went by, and the racking sobs that I had cried every night slowly petered off. The nightmares were worse, though. I had to put a Silencing Charm on my room every night before sleeping so that my screams wouldn't wake anyone up.

And then, three days later, just when I thought things might get better, they got worse.

As I sat talking cheerily at the breakfast table with my friends, an owl landed in front of me. I choked on my juice and James, sitting next to me, pounded my back. "All right?" he asked, worriedly.

"Fine," I whispered as Lawrence stared up at me. I slowly took the letter from his leg and opened it.

_Lily,_

_I regret to inform you that Father has also passed away. And I really do regret it. I'm sorry. Truly. Grandmother had the funeral yesterday and your bird wasn't around or I would have had you come._

_He was driving drunk and crashed. They say he died painlessly._

_Petunia_

_P.S. Don't bother coming home. We're moving. All of your things have been donated, seeing as you were moving out after you graduated from your freak school anyways, and your money is in your bank account._

I stared at the letter before standing, feeling numb. My friends looked at me concernedly. "Lily?" asked Alice. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I said, smiling, but wishing desperately that one of my friends would see through my façade and save me from the depression that was consuming me. All my things gone. My father dead. Not going home, no one left, all of them dead… how? How? Why?

I started walking quickly out of the Great Hall, saying something about Potions, and then I was out the doors and running through the corridors, bursting out the door into the windy grounds, the gray clouds above rumbling ominously as I rushed to the Lake, staring into its depths, the letter clenched in my fist.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulders and spun my around. I gasped and then my eyes widened. James.

"Lily, something's going on," he murmured. "What? Tell me. Please."

I closed my eyes. "Nothing. Nothing."

"Please, Lily, give me your pain," he whispered, begging. He ran a hand through my hair, and then I cracked.

James held me to my chest as I sobbed, choking out everything that had happened- my parents dying, my stuff being taken away, my home disappearing without any warning. He stroked my hair as my tears stained his shirt, the second time he had comforted me, as the skies rumbled ominously.

And then came the rain, pouring down from the sky to drench us instantly. It mixed with my tears and I looked up to see tears on James's face too. I smiled a watery smile, my eyes heavy, and he picked me up, one hand at my back and the other at my knees, carrying me up to the Head Tower.

I woke up when he lay me gently on my bed, sitting next to me. "James," I whispered.

"Yeah?"

"You won't leave me, right? You won't die and leave me alone?"

I thought I heard him stifle a sob, but I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. He murmured, "I swear I won't leave you alone."

"Good," I sighed, and fell asleep.

**A/N: **This story does not want to follow my plans! I'm sorry if this chapter was really awful, and I feel like it may have been… but hopefully the next chapter will be up in a few weeks and it will be mostly happy. And I swear within the next two chapters (hopefully in the next one), Lily will be totally out of denial. I promise.

Please review!

))Riiko Shea((


	13. The Yule Ball and the End of Denial

**A/N: **Only three reviews? Well, four, but… Come on, guys! Please, if you read, review!

I finally gave into my inner romantic with this chapter… I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I'm totally J.K. Not. And there's a line in this chapter based on the song "Love Remains the Same" by Gavin Rossdale.

**And Then Came the Rain**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**The Yule Ball and the End of Denial**

**Lily**

The sun shining on my face gently roused me to consciousness the next morning. I yawned and turned over, not quite willing to wake up.

Suddenly, I felt the bed sink down next to me, and someone's hand in my hair. I opened my eyes, and gasped, rocketing into a sitting position. "James!"

James laughed. "This is like déjà vu… you sleeping, I wake you up, and you jerk upright and go, 'James!'"

I grinned tiredly at him, still drained after my cry the night before. "Yeah, well, you shouldn't surprise me in the morning."

He laughed and then stood, holding out his hand. "Are you feeling well enough to come to breakfast?"

I nodded and pulled myself out of bed. James left the room and I quickly showered and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt, grateful it was Saturday. Fifteen minutes later James and I walked down to breakfast.

Already seated at the table were Alice, Frank, Colleen, and the Marauders. When I sat down, they all pushed in close, each reaching out a hand to touch my own, each whispering condolences. I smiled sadly before looking at James. "You told them?"

"They deserved to know," he said, his hazel eyes unfazed. I contemplated getting angry at him, but truthfully, I was tired of being angry with him.

"Yeah." I turned to my friends. "I'm sorry, guys… I really… should have…" and I dissolved into tears, turning and unconsciously burying my head in James's shoulder. He stroked my hair. Remus and Sirius, on my other side, reached over to touch my back, while Alice, Frank, Peter, and Colleen stretched across the table to touch my arm. Finally, James helped me up and took me back to my room, where I curled up.

"When will it stop hurting?" I whispered, touching the place under which my heart beat. James sighed and stroked my forehead.

"Soon," he murmured. "I promise."

))((

James was right. When Thanksgiving rolled around a week or so later, I was managing to make it through the day without collapsing. Nights were plagued with nightmares and sobs, but the days were full of light again.

At Thanksgiving dinner I ate my fill of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and treacle tart, enjoying the company of my friends. After the festivities, James and I went back to the Head Tower.

James yawned and started to go up the stairs, but then paused and looked back at me. "Lily? Aren't you coming?"

I shook my head. "I… don't want to go to sleep, yet," I whispered. His face instantly showed his understanding.

"Ah," he responded, and then he came down the stairs and sat next to me. My eyes widened.

"You don't have to stay!" I gasped. "I wasn't trying to guilt you into-"

James cut me off by placing a finger on my lips, silencing my words and effectively shutting down all of my normal functions. He removed his finger and said, "Listen, I'm staying because I'm your friend, okay? You didn't guilt me into staying, I promise."

I searched his hazel eyes behind his glasses, but only found earnest affection. Sighing, I leaned back against the couch. "Okay. I believe you."

He grinned. "Excellent." He leaned back against the sofa as well. We sat in silence for a moment before he said, "Hey."

"Hey what?" I answered.

"Let's play Word Association," he responded.

I blinked at him. I wasn't sure exactly what answer I'd been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been that one. "Uh… sure."

"Okay, you start," he grinned.

I blinked again. "Uh… Chair."

"Table," James responded.

"Homework."

"Moony."

"Wolf."

"Padfoot."

"Sirius."

"Remus."

"Deoxyribonucleic acid."

"What the hell is that?" asked James, effectively ending the round. I laughed.

"It's DNA… you know, your body's code," I explained. "I'm sure you've read about it somewhere, in one of the Muggle books the library has."

"Yeah," he answered. "But… what does that have to do with Moony?"

"He was reading a book that mentioned it yesterday, and showed me the passage."

"You nerds."

I glared half heartedly at him and he grinned. Yawning, he started the new round with, "Portrait."

His yawn infected me, and through one of my own I responded, "Fat Lady."

"Gryffindor Tower."

"Marauders."

"Brothers."

"Boys."

"Girls."

"Make-up.

))((

Five games of Word Association later I fell asleep. James carried me up to my bed, where, thankfully, I had a dreamless night.

))((

November finished rapidly, leading into December, and Christmas, my favorite time of the year. Hagrid started hanging up hundreds of wreaths, Christmas trees sprang up in the castle daily, the teachers started giving out more homework than I had ever seen, and Peeves began carrying around mistletoe.

Two weeks before Christmas, James, Remus, Alice, Frank and I were all studying in the library, while Peter, Sirius, and Colleen, being much less studious and wanting to take advantage of the frozen Lake, had opted to go skating.

Suddenly, a prefect named Katherine Scott came to our table, pressing a piece of parchment into my hand before hurrying off. I glanced after her before looking down at the parchment and blanching.

It was a poster for Yule Ball.

I poked James, who was sitting, engrossed in his Potions textbook, next to me. He started and looked up. I pointed to the parchment. He scanned it and then grimaced.

"Ah well," he whispered in my ear, making my hair and my heart flutter. "It was sort of fun last year."

"Sort of being the key word here," I whispered back.

"Sort of is two words," James muttered before turning back to his book. I glared at him.

Finally, Alice, Frank, Remus, James and I decided that we'd had enough studying. James and I trooped to the Head Tower, our books under our arms, when suddenly Peeves swooped down over us. I shrieked and James swore, but Peeves didn't drop anything on us, he just hovered above us cackling.

I glanced up and swore worse than James had. "Peeves! Get away from us with that thing!" I shouted. Peeves howled with laughter, shaking a piece of mistletoe.

"I don't think so, ickle Head Girl. Time for you to pucker up with wee Potty, eh?"

James shook his head. "I think not, Peeves." He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me down the hallway, but Peeves swooped down again, with a cane appearing in his hand, hitting us sharply in the midriffs. I gasped and glared at him, ready to kill him (had he been living. He wasn't, though, so I was stymied in that respect...)

"You won't get past me, ickle Heads." Peeves cackled again. James sighed and looked at me.

"Let's just do it, okay? He'll leave us alone if we do."

I stared at him in shock, but before I could protest, James had taken my upper arms in his hands and had pulled me into him, crashing our lips together.

I didn't even hear Peeves swoop away as James's lips effectively erased all thoughts from my head. I went to deepen the kiss, but suddenly, James pulled away, looking up. I realized what I had gone to do and blushed, rapidly stepping away from him. James's face was also red, his eyes wide, but a moment later he grinned and said, "We should really speak to McGonagall about him."

I laughed with him, but inwardly, my stomach clenched. Every day it was getting harder to keep my affections a secret.

Plus, after my parents' deaths, I felt like I should live by those age-old clichés of "Live every day to the fullest" and "Never have any regrets".

But regrets seemed inevitable when it came to James.

))((

The next day, McGonagall summoned me and James to her office. We left Potions feeling slightly apprehensive, a feeling which only grew when we saw old record player in the corner of the room.

"As Head Boy and Girl," said McGonagall, startling us as she came in from her living quarters, "you will open the ball with a dance. I am here to provide lessons for you so that you don't embarrass yourselves."

I stared at James, who stared back. Lessons? To dance? Oh crap.

"Uh, Professor, I really don't want to do this," I said urgently, but McGonagall tutted.

"You do not have a choice, Miss Evans. Now, Mr. Potter, place your right hand on Miss Evans' waist." James looked at me before hesitantly setting his hand on my waist. "Fine. Miss Evans, left hand on Mr. Potter's right shoulder." I bit my lip and placed my hand on his shoulder, which, even through his robes, I could feel was muscled and strong.

"Now," said McGonagall, thankfully interrupting my train of thought, "put your other hands together… good. All right, watch me, now step two three, step two three…"

Slowly, James and I got the hang of it, soon moving around with room with ease, if not with speed. McGonagall stopped us a little later with a small smile. "Well done. You may go."

"Uh, can I talk to you about something for a minute, Professor?" asked James. I glanced at him but he shook his head.

"Of course." McGonagall turned to me. "Miss Evans, you are dismissed. I shall see you later."

"Good-bye, Professor," I answered, and I left, wondering what it was James had needed.

))((

The week before Christmas, and Alice, Colleen and I were in my room getting ready for e for the Yule Ball.

Or rather, Alice and Colleen were ready, and trying to get me ready.

I squirmed away from Alice's hairbrush, which she was attempting to run through my hair, and tried to hide behind my bed curtains. Colleen swore and leapt across the room, an impressive feat in her tight fitting red dress.

I sighed as I was heaved into the bathroom. I really did not want to go to the Yule Ball. It was a waste of my time. Alice and Colleen, however, did not see it the same way.

"Lily, this is your last Yule Ball. You will go, you will look gorgeous, and you will have a good time. So shut up and let Alice do your hair," snapped Colleen. She stomped out of the room to get my dress ready as Alice gently pulled my hair back with a jeweled clip, arranging it, in her own words, "tastefully".

After she had applied a small amount of makeup, she shoved me into the bedroom, where Colleen was holding a dark green dress. She helped me into it as I complained. "It's like this is my wedding!" I groused as Colleen zipped up the dress. She muttered something rude sounding under her breath as she slipped a pair of black robes over my dress.

"Look at yourself," she snapped, pushing me in front of a mirror.

I complied, turning to face myself. I blinked and smiled. I had to admit, I looked pretty amazing. I turned and hugged Colleen.

"Thanks, babe," I whispered. Colleen laughed.

"You're welcome… and it isn't like your wedding, your dress only come to your knees," she answered. "And you'd be in a better mood." I grinned and then turned to hug Alice as well as she came out of the bathroom.

Finally, we were ready. I slowly followed my friends down to the Great Hall. In the corridor in front of the Great Hall were hundreds of people. I smiled as Frank hurried over to Alice, looking dashing in his dress robes. I soon lost sight of them and focused on Colleen, who was talking animatedly with Mary McDonald.

Suddenly, someone whistled behind me. "Look at this, Moony. I think we've found ourselves a rare Lilyflower."

I rolled my eyes and turned to face Sirius. "I'm glad you approve, Black."

Remus laughed and hugged me briefly. "You _do_ look lovely," he smiled. "Padfoot isn't lying."

I grinned back at him. "Good. Seeing as I went through hell to look like this."

"It was worth it," Peter's soft voice promised. I beamed at him.

"Thanks, Peter," I said. I glanced around. "Where's your errant partner in crime?"

"Looking for me, Lily? How sweet!" came James's voice behind me. I turned again and blinked.

He looked amazing. His robes were clean and neat, and the black and white matched his hair, making him look incredibly sophisticated. To cover my shock, I asked, "How did you get into the Great Hall without us seeing you?"

"I've been in there for a while," he answered, coming to stand next to me. He looked me up and down before leaning in and whispering in my ear, "You look amazing."

I blushed and Sirius smirked. Apparently, though, it was more fun to make fun of James, because he ignored our exchange and said, "He was just raring to go. One would think he was eager to waltz around in his robes, hm?" He nudged Remus, who chuckled. James smacked Sirius upside the head with a scowl and I shook my head, smiling.

Suddenly, McGonagall's voice crackled through the Great Hall. "Will the Head Boy and Girl please proceed to the dance floor to open the ball?"

I blanched and froze, but James grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd, which parted for us, whispering as they saw our hands. Finally, we reached the center of the dance floor and the crowd closed around us.

My heart felt like a caged bird as James smiled reassuringly at me. "Don't worry, Lily," he whispered. "You can do this." I bit my lip but placed my hand on his shoulder while he took my other hand. When his hand found my waist, the music started.

James led, twirling us slowly around the dance floor, just as we had in McGonagall's office. After a moment, James leaned forward and whispered," Do you want to go faster?"

"_Can_ you go faster?" I murmured back. He blushed but murmured, his breath tickling my ear, "I've practiced extra with McGonagall."

And then suddenly, he started stepping faster, guiding me. I gasped, expecting disaster, but… he was good at it! We moved rapidly around the floor, and after a moment he whispered, "I'm going to spin you."

Before I could protest he released me and spun me around under his arm, both of us (by some miracle) still moving forward with the proper steps. The crowd around us cheered as James's hand met my waist and mine his shoulder. I grinned at James, all my fears alleviated.

Finally, the song ended and other couples joined us on the floor. I sighed as we separated, grinning at him. "That was fun!" I said, as we were buffeted around, soon reaching the snack tables. He smiled down at me.

"I'm glad," he said. "I've been practicing that for a long time."

I took some punch and sat down, not realizing until I had done so that James had been grabbed by a blonde Ravenclaw girl, who was talking to him earnestly, a hand on his arm. I turned away, feeling jealousy, bitter and vile, in my throat.

"You should tell him how you feel."

"What the bloody-" My head snapped up and I sighed in relief when I saw Remus and Sirius sitting down across from me. "What does that mean?" I asked, once I regained my composure.

"We've seen you watching James, Lily," answered Remus quietly. "If you don't hurry, he'll think you don't like him anymore, and he will finally move on to someone else."

I snorted. "Psh, like he hasn't done that already." I motioned to him, still deep in conversation with the Ravenclaw girl.

"He hasn't," said Sirius, sounding exasperated. "That's one of the girls who was in charge of decorating the Great Hall. She's checking to make sure he likes the decorations. He is Head Boy, you know." I blushed and Sirius chuckled. "You're soooo jealous."

My eyes narrowed. "I am not! Both of you are mistaken."

Remus groaned. "We aren't, Lily. Come on. For years, James has put himself out there, and gotten beaten down by you over and over again. Maybe it's time you put yourself out there, huh?"

I blinked but then snorted. "Yeah, right, Remus. Pull the other one."

Sirius suddenly growled at me, sounding much like Padfoot. My eyes widened as he leaned forward. "Listen, Evans," he hissed. "Listen very closely. James Potter is my best mate. He has been beaten down by you long enough. We've watched you, me and Moony. You like him. Maybe even love him. And yet you continue to deny it. It's time to end the denial."

I frowned, but Sirius was right. I did like him. Love him, even. (Him meaning James, of course. Not Sirius.)

But were they right? Was James still holding out for me? Did I still have a chance with him?

These thoughts were too confusing for me. I stood quickly. "I… I'm going outside," I muttered, before practically sprinting towards a small side door and out onto the grounds. As I fled, I thought I heard Sirius whisper, "D'you think I overdid it?" and Remus answering, "No. She had to admit how she felt sooner or later."

I rushed out into the dark, running until I had passed the light being given off from the windows of the Great Hall. I stopped and closed my eyes before realizing that my feet were getting wet. I opened my eyes.

Snow! It was snowing, the first snowfall of the year! Finally! I laughed and spun around, my dress and robes swirling around me, until I collapsed into the light coating on the ground, instantly getting my robes soaking. I leapt up and swore, shivering, until someone draped a pair of robes over my shoulders. I looked up, surprised, and smiled.

"Hey, Lily," smiled James. "You look a little cold."

I bit my lip. What should I say? I thought of Remus and Sirius, and my own twisted feelings and promises, and then made my decision.

"Not anymore, I'm not," I whispered, and then I stood on tip-toes and kissed him. My fears that I was being to forward were alleviated, as James immediately began kissing me back, pressing me against a nearby tree.

After a moment, we broke apart, resting our foreheads together. James had a deadly serious look in his eyes. "If you tell me to forget that, Lily," he growled, "I swear to God I will hex you from here to the afterlife."

I smiled and reached up a cold hand to cradle his warm cheek, which flushed under my touch. "James… I… gosh, this is hard to say." I looked down, dropping my hand, but his own hand lifted my chin.

"Say it," he whispered. "I promise I won't laugh."

I bit my lip and then sighed. I had to come clean. "You should laugh," I started. "You see, I have been unfair to you. Well, you deserved it years ago, but I should have been nicer to you in the past couple years. And, well, I know you probably don't like me anymore, because I was such a prat, but, I really like you, James, and I know you-"

James put his finger on my lips and I snapped my mouth shut, blushing, knowing I had been babbling. I glanced up at his eyes, but his face was blank.

"So," he said, slowly, "you're saying that you're sorry for being mean to me, even though I deserved it sometimes, and that you... fancy me?"

I nodded, blushing harder. "That's about the gist of it," I said, when he removed his finger from my lips.

"And do you mean that? Really mean it?" James asked, his voice soft.

"Yes," I whispered without hesitation. "I do. But…" I bit my lip. "I know it futile. After all… you can't still like me, right? Everything's changed. That Wizarding world, us, our friends..."

James smiled gently. "Yeah, everything's changed. But that love remains the same."

Then he leaned in, covering my mouth with his own. I responded warmly, unable to believe that we were kissing, _really_ kissing, and that I had just admitted to James Potter I fancied him.

Finally, James leaned back again. Panting slightly, I asked, looking into his eyes, "So what does this mean?"

"What do you think it means?" he asked, smirking.

"Uh… that we're together?" I answered, and James's face lit up.

"Really?"

I laughed. "I'd say that yes, snogging the way we just were tends to mean that people are together."

James whooped and kissed me one more time, before grabbing my hand and dragging me back into the Great Hall. Once there, he stood on a table, pulling me up as well, motioning for the band to stop playing for a moment. They did and then James whistled loudly.

Everyone turned from the center of the room to face us. I blushed and James took my hand reassuringly, before pointing his wand at himself. A moment later his voice boomed out.

"I have an announcement to make," he said, and everyone started whispering. "Quiet, please. I would like everyone to know that, finally, Lily Evans has agreed to go out with me!"

There were shrieks of fury from his fan club, whoops and catcalls from the guys, and cheers from our friends. I heard Alice shout, "No way, Lily!" and decided to prove to everyone that I had done the unthinkable.

I glanced at James, who had heard Alice, too. He winked and me, and then grabbed me, dipping me back to kiss me. Everyone cheered, and when he let me up, I noticed Dumbledore and McGonagall smiling, Remus, Sirius, Frank, and Peter shouting and clapping, and Alice and Colleen shrieking with glee.

James helped me down from the table and led me back to the dance floor. We danced together until the very end of the ball, when, exhausted, we staggered to the Head Tower.

After one more kiss, we fell asleep next to each other on the couch of the Head Common Room, my head resting on his shoulder, our hands intertwined.

**A/N: **Finally! They're together!

Don't worry, that doesn't mean the story's ending. Even if people don't like it, I enjoy writing it.

So please review, and if you like Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny, try my story "Impossibly Insufferable."

))Riiko Shea((


	14. Christmas Begins

**A/N: **Hello, everyone. Um, before you can begin to read this chapter, my (rude) friend, The Heir to Lord Voldemort, would like to say a few words.

That was crude! Anyways, every single time my lovely author friend here uploads a chapter, she whines and moans for absolute EONS about how crushed she feels when she gets so many favorites/alerts/hits but gets a low amount of reviews, comparatively. I have heard that this is becoming an epidemic among FanFiction writers. THIS IS GETTING ANNOYING. So, for my sake, and hers, REVIEW. PLEASE. I AM BEGGING YOU. That is all.

P.S. And I am not Lord Voldy's heir. She simply refuses to acknowledge my superior wit and intelligence.

Thanks… wait. I DO NOT WHINE!!! Sheesh.

Anyways, I'm really sorry for not updating, but I've been incredibly uninspired and I've been having issues with this story. I even had to stop before Christmas Eve in the story because I felt it would be too long… ah well.

**And Then Came the Rain**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Christmas Begins**

**James**

I woke up the next morning, tired, but strangely exhilarated. Why was that?

Then I turned and saw Lily's head on my shoulder, our hands intertwined, and in a glorious moment, I remembered why.

I smiled and pressed my lips to her forehead. She shifted. "'Morning, Lilykins," I whispered. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, James," Lily murmured. "And just because we're a couple now doesn't mean you can call me Lilykins."

I laughed. "I think I will anyways," I said, gently disengaging myself from her and standing. Lily pouted.

"Where are you going?" she asked. "It's Sunday."

"I'm getting you breakfast," I answered, smiling at her. "And then I need to check with Padfoot about our arrangements for the next full moon… it's tomorrow, you know."

Lily sighed. "At least Remus with be okay for Christmas… hey, are you guys going home for Christmas?"

"Nope," I said, pausing at the portrait hole. "We're all staying here."

Lily's eyebrows lifted. "You are? Since when?"

I looked at her seriously. "Since I found out you were staying here. Couldn't very well leave you alone, could I?" And then, before Lily could say anything else, I climbed out of the portrait hole and hurried towards the kitchen.

When I came back upstairs a few minutes later with some toast and some tea, Lily was sitting at the table, writing something. As I bent and put the food on the table, she grinned up at me. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," I answered, sitting next to her. "I didn't feel like walking to Gryffindor Tower, so I'm just going to invite the guys over here. Is that okay?"

"Sure," Lily replied. I smiled and reached into my ever-present rucksack to pull out my mirror.

"Padfoot? Moony? Are one of you there?"

Padfoot appeared. "Hey, Prongs!" He turned and called over his shoulder. "Oi, Moony, Wormtail! Prongs is in the mirror!"

Lily leaned over my arm so she was reflected in the mirror too. "Hey, Sirius," she said, waving.

"It's the lovely Lily! Good morning," Sirius grinned. Suddenly, Remus and Peter appeared on either side of Sirius.

"Hey Lily," they chorused. Then Remus turned to me. "What's up?" His voice sounded incredibly weak- I was surprised he wasn't already in hiding, waiting to go to the Shack the next night.

"I wanted to know what our arrangements are for tomorrow," I answered. "Do you guys want to come up here or should Lily and I come to you?"

"We'll come to the Head Tower," said Sirius. "More private that way… you all right with that, Moony?"

Remus nodded. "I can make it. See you soon, Prongs."

The three disappeared and I saw only my reflection, Lily's next to it, her eyes filled with pain for her werewolf friend. "Poor Remus," she whispered. I sighed and put the mirror back inside my rucksack.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Yeah. Poor Moony."

"I wonder what it's like," Lily murmured.

"It seems painful. It _is_ painful. And I'm only watching," I said, thinking of Remus's tortured scream. Suddenly, there was a knock on the portrait hole and the sound of something panting. I blinked and went to the portrait, opening it-

"Dammit, eww Padfoot! Get the hell off me, you sick prat!" I shouted. Padfoot grinned at me, his tongue dripping on the front of my robes, his tail wagging. Quickly, he morphed into Sirius, sitting firmly on my chest.

"Hello, mate!" he grinned. I growled and suddenly arched my back, throwing Sirius off me and onto his own back. Following up, I straddled his waist, grabbed a pillow off the nearby couch, and started thwacking his head. Lily laughed softly as she took Remus's arm, the other of which Peter was already supporting, and brought him to the couch.

Finally, Sirius panted, "All right, all right, enough already!" I grinned and stood, helping him to his feet. The two of us grabbed chairs and sat next to Remus, who was smiling despite his pale face.

"Why aren't you hiding out already?" asked Lily concernedly, wiping his face with a damp towel she had just Summoned from her bathroom. Remus sighed.

"I wanted to, but Madame Pomfrey said I should be with you guys as long as possible. You know, because it's the Christmas season."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Enough chat. Let's get to it, shall we?"

))((

The morning after the full moon, Sirius and I were shivering in the cold as we morphed back into our human selves. The night had gone reasonably well; Remus had had a surprisingly easy transformation. Now, Sirius scooped him up, stripping off his own shirt to put on his friend. I added my shirt, throwing it over Remus's thin shoulders, before putting Peter in my pocket and wrapping everyone in the Cloak to sneak into Hogwarts.

Once Remus was taken care of and Lily had given him her newest potion, we split up. Lily and I sat in gloomy silence until six or so, when Lily patted my hand and moved upstairs to shower. I did the same and we met in the Common Room before sprinting to the Hospital Wing to check on Remus just like we had last month.

He was feeling as well as was to be expected and smiled tiredly at us before falling asleep. We tiptoed out of his room as he sighed and curled over onto his side.

))((

Remus was feeling better by Christmas. Christmas Eve morning, the Marauders and I gathered in my room to plan our Christmas celebration.

"Okay, tree." I looked at Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

"I'll get it," volunteered Sirius. He stretched out on my bed, rolling onto his stomach and using his wand to shoot little bubbles into Remus's hair. Remus sighed in a resigned manner from his place on the floor as I grinned and glanced at the list.

"Alcohol and Honeydukes stuff?"

"Sure," said Peter, also from the floor. "I can borrow the Cloak, right?"

"Of course, how else did you think we'd do it?" I asked. "Remus, you're-"

"In charge of decorating the Christmas tree and the Common Room." Remus batted another cloud of soap bubbles away from his eyes. "Yep."

"Excellent. So that leaves me to get everyone's gifts under the tree and get snacks from the kitchens." I sighed in relief, grateful to my friends for their help.

"Wait, what's Lily doing?" asked Sirius suddenly, getting tired of bothering Remus. He rolled on to his back to look at me upside down. The other two also looked at me in interest.

I hesitated. "Well, see, I'm surprising Lily with all this-"

"Because of her parents," interrupted Remus again. "That's nice of you."

I smiled slightly. "I try."

))((

Later that day, I sent Lily to Gryffindor Common Room to spend the day with Alice and Colleen. I had placated her with a kiss, promising her a winter wonderland when she returned.

As soon as Alice and Colleen had secured their charge (figuratively, or course… they weren't literally tying her up) in the Common Room, beginning their job of occupying Lily for the day, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Frank and I hurried to get our jobs done.

))((

**Third Person- The Other Marauders**

Peter pulled the Cloak around his shoulders, slipping out one of our hidden passages to Honeydukes. He snuck upstairs and then left the shop on the heels of a bundled up customer. A moment later, he pulled off the Cloak and stepped into the shop.

Working the store was one of the Marauders' biggest fans- Andrew Hansel, who had graduated the year before them. He grinned as Peter came to the counter.

"Hello, Pettigrew. Planning a party?"

"Maybe," grinned Peter, shaking hands with Andrew. "Not going to rat me out, right, Hansel?"

"Of course not!" exclaimed Andrew. "But you'd better hurry and get what you need- Dumbledore's had quite a sweet tooth as of late."

Peter nodded and hurried through the store, grabbing what he needed. Then, as he handed over some coins to Andrew at the till, he added an extra Galleon. Andrew rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Don't hurt yourselves with that firewhiskey," Andrew warned, handing Peter his bag. Peter nodded and smiled before leaving the store.

A moment later, he trotted back in on the heels of another customer, wrapped in the Cloak. He moved downstairs and grabbed a case of firewhiskey before going back to the castle and the Head Common Room.

))((

Meanwhile, Sirius had enlisted the aid of Frank, and the two had gone to the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest to search for the perfect Christmas tree.

Sirius sighed and glanced back at Frank. "So what _is_ the perfect Christmas tree?" he asked, looking around despondently at the many pine trees that Professor Sprout had enchanted to grow around the boundaries of the forest as a decoration.

Frank shrugged. "I have no idea. I asked Alice, and she said that 'I would know'," he answered, sketching quotation marks in the air. Sirius groaned.

"Okay, that doesn't help me at all," he muttered, glancing around at the trees. He twirled his wand around his gloved fingers, examining each tree. Frank raised his eyebrows.

"Why don't you just pick a tree?" he asked, pointing at one. "I mean, this looks fine to me."

Sirius tugged his hat lower over his ears in embarrassment. "Well… this is for Lily and James. And it's because Lily lost her parents, you know? I mean, I couldn't give a damn about my parents, but the Evans' deaths hit Lily really hard. That's why James is doing this. He's trying to make it the best Christmas for her. So…"

Frank smiled. "So you want to try to actually find the "perfect Christmas tree"."

Sirius grinned, glad Frank understood. "Yeah."

Frank laughed. "What do you know, the infamous Sirius Black actually has a heart."

An hour later, Sirius and Frank were freezing. Their lips were blue, their hair caked with ice, and their clothes were filled with snow. Finally, Sirius swore and marched over to a tree that was of middling height and didn't have any holes in the branches. Flourishing his wand, he chopped the tree down in moments. "Levitate it," he said through chattering teeth to Frank, who did so with a hand that shook as the weather worsened.

"What a Christmas," mutter Frank. He started to walk back to the castle before realizing Sirius wasn't following him. "Sirius?"

"Give me another fifteen minutes," Sirius answered, gritting his teeth. "Then I'm going in."

Frank shrugged and continued up to the castle, suspending the tree in front of him. Sirius turned away and trudged into the forest, glancing around through the snow before halting.

There it was.

The perfect tree.

In moments, he had cut down the mid-sized tree, its branches fanning around it as delicately as a dancer's tutu, smelling vaguely of fresh pine. Running through the snow as fast as possible, he caught up with Frank, panting, "I've found it!"

Frank grinned and released the tree he had been levitating. "Come on, then, let's get back to the castle!"

))((

Remus hummed idly to himself as he moved around the Head's Common Room, making sure everything looked nice. The windows were festooned with holly, the portrait hold had a wreath on the back of it, the fireplace crackled merrily, and there was enchanted snow falling from the celing and disappearing just before it hit the floor. Sighing, Remus sat down on one of the sofas. All that was left was Sirius's tree.

Suddenly, the portrait hole burst open and a very cold looking Sirius, Frank, and a tree fell into the Common Room. Remus jumped up and helped the two to their feet before assisting them in taking off their cold, snowy outer-wear. When the two boys were settled, Remus turned his attention to the tree.

"Wow, Padfoot. It's perfect!" said Remus, standing the tree up and looking at it from all angles. "Nice choice!"

"Thanks," Sirius murmured drowsily. Remus smiled and secured the tree to the wall with a nail and some wire he had Transfigured from a firewhiskey cap and some thread. Then he careful decorated the tree with delicate glass balls, shimmering snowflakes, and strings of popcorn.

When he was finished, he sank down next to his dozing friends. Peter came in a moment later with the firewhiskey and candy in a couple of bags and spread them on one of the tables before curling up in an armchair. And they all dozed off.

))((

**James**

I returned from the kitchens with food in my arms to find my friends asleep in the Common Room. The room itself looked very nice- Remus had done a good job. Candy and firewhiskey were spread out on a table, while the tree, one of the nicest I'd ever seen, stood in a corner. Smiling, I put the food on another table before tiptoeing up to my room.

Inside on the floor were three of four small stacks of gifts. I carefully levitated them down the stairs and arranged them under the tree before glancing at Remus's wristwatch that hung over the edge of the sofa. Two o'clock.

Deciding they had slept enough, I shook Sirius, Remus, Frank, and Peter's respective shoulders. Blearily, they all blinked, sitting up slowly and stretching. Remus smiled tiredly at James. "Hey, Prongs. Ready to get Lily?"

"Sure, I'll grab her," I grinned. Sirius yawned and laid his head back again.

"Wake me up when she gets here," he said, and Peter agreed with a mutter, curling onto his other side. I laughed and glanced at Frank.

"Keep them awake while I'm gone, will you?" I asked before leaving the room.

I was pretty sure that all of them would be asleep by the time I got back.

))((

**Lily**

I vowed I was going to kill James. Christmas Eve day, and I had been locked out of my own Common Room. I wasn't even allowed in the Head Tower at all!

Alice and Colleen tried to get me interested in a game of Chess, but I ignored them in a huff. Sitting in an armchair, I folded my arms crossly until about noon, when I finally thawed as the weather grew colder outside.

Suddenly, at two fifteen, James burst into the Common Room and pulled me to my feet and into his arms. The other Gryffindors in the Common Room "awww"ed in unison as James kissed me quickly on the mouth, effectively erasing my irritation with him.

Motioning to Alice and Colleen to follow him, he took my hand and led me to the Head Tower. Pausing at the portrait hole, he made me close my eyes.

"Ready, Lily?" he asked, his hand on the small of my back to guide me into the Head Common Room. I grinned.

"Ready."

I heard the portrait hole open and he helped me over it. "Open your eyes," he whispered.

I did and gasped softly, my hand flying to my mouth as tears welled up in my eyes. The tables were covered with food, the windows and walls were decorated with festive decorations, and the most perfect Christmas tree I'd ever seen was in one of the corners of the room.

The cutest thing of all was Remus, Sirius, Peter, and Frank, all in various positions on the sofas and armchairs in the Common Room, sound asleep. Obviously, they had all worked very hard to make this for me. I turned and hugged James, pressing my face into his chest. "Do you like it?" he asked worriedly.

"I love it!" I murmured. "I love it."

**A/N: **Review!

P.S. One of my reviewers pointed out that (obviously- I'm so stupid sometimes) the British don't celebrate Thankgiving. Soo….

The reason Hogwarts celebrated it was because there were some American students in the student body, who were sixth years, which was why James didn't find the school celebrating Thanksgiving odd. And the reason why the Evans celebrated it was because one of Petunia's friends introduced it to them, and Mr. Evans liked the idea of eating a ton of food and then sleeping it all off the next day.

Okay.

))Riiko Shea((


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